Skip to main content

Skilling The Squad

Image
By
Originally Published on the DevOps Institute Site

One of the most interesting trends in DevOps adoption is the evolution of the IT silo into the cross-skilled squad.

This is not just a semantical name change. Most IT teams today are comprised of like-skilled individuals such as a Scrum team of developers. The modern squad takes a slightly different approach, is more static than dynamic and is more product-focused than project based. Squads are built around T-shaped professionals –where each member has a specialty competency, but all members have a broad scope of skills across multiple disciplines.
A high performing squad essentially has all of the skills needed for the product or feature to which it is assigned and is not generally constrained by the availability of an individual resource. There is enough breadth of knowledge inside and outside the squad to shift more activities to the left so as to allow them to move more quickly and with more agility. While the squad model originated with Spotify, more and more enterprise organizations are starting to reorganize in favor of cross-functional squads.

The squad model is not only challenging the way that IT is organized, but it is also challenging the way we skill and certify IT professionals.

Historically most training and certification schemes were built as a hierarchy – starting with a basic “foundation” certification and eventually stepping up to a capstone designation such as an Expert or Master. Unfortunately, for most the journey starts and ends at the Foundation level. Statistically, only 10 to 20 percent of learners will actually be funded for or have the personnel need to achieve the capstone certification.
The other problem with generic certifications is that they do not clearly define what the recipient can actually do. While some certifications reflect documented roles such as Product Owners, Scrum Masters or Site Reliability Engineers, other designations are so ambiguous that a hiring manager or squad leader may not know exactly what skills they are hiring or how to use that resource. Would a sports organization build their squads around a group of people known as “Football Experts.” “Soccer Practitioners,” “Basketball Masters,” or “Baseball Professionals?” Of course not. Each member of a squad should be recruited based on the depth and breadth of their skillset and the competencies that that squad is lacking.
The DevOps Institute has responded to this challenge by creating a certification model that essentially “skills the squad.” The model is not hierarchical, it has inherent agility and is based on extensive research on the most critical and hireable skills needed for the modern T-shaped squad. At present, these include the best practices and principles around
As new skills emerge, we can adapt the model accordingly and help our Registered Education Partners deliver up-to-date content and certifications for a transforming market.
The hub of the DevOps Institute certification model is DevOps Foundation® – for which ITSM Academy is a proud lead author. This course offers the broadest and most comprehensive collection of current DevOps practices, principles and trends – many of which are not documented in a book and were born out of real-life enterprise innovation.
While skilling the squad with T-shaped competencies is an essential need for hiring and grooming the best talent, DevOps Institute also recognizes that organizational capabilities must evolve as well.  That is why we also offer a series of non-certification “DrillDown Courses” focusing on trending practices that have proven to be enablers of change and transformation. At present, these include
All of DevOps Institute’s content and certifications have been authored by some of the best and brightest thought leaders in their specific area.
Whether you call it a team or a squad, for now, one thing is clear – people are at the heart of every transformation. And upskilled, cross-skilled, talented people are the only way an organization is going to cross the digital divide. Skill the squad.
To learn more about ITSM Academy's DevOps and Agile Service Management classes: www.devopscampus.com.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Four Service Characteristics

By
Recently I came across several articles by researchers and experts that laid out definitions and characteristics of services. ITIL provides us with a definition that can help drive the creation of value-laden services: A means of delivering value to customers by facilitating outcomes customers want to achieve without the ownership of specific costs and risks. An area that ITIL is not so clear is in terms of service characteristics. Several researchers and experts put forth that services have four basic characteristics (IHIP): Intangibility—Services are the results of actions not things. They have no physical presence and represent a logical set of elements. One way to think of service is “work done for others.”  Heterogeneity—Also known as “variability”; services are unique items because of the mechanisms used to deliver services, which is people. Because the people element adds variability, the service is variable. This holds true, especially for the value proposition—not eve...
Post a Comment
Read more

What Is A Service Offering?

By
The ITIL 4 Best Practice Guidance defines a “Service Offering” as a description of one or more services designed to address the needs of a target customer or group.   As a service provider, we can’t stop there!   We must know what the contracts of our service offering are and be able to put them into context as required by the customer.     Let’s explore the three elements that comprise a Service Offering. A “Service Offering” may include:     Goods, Access to Resources, and Service Actions 1. Goods – When we think of “Goods” within a service offering these are the items where ownership is transferred to the consumer and the consumer takes responsibility for the future use of these goods.   Example of goods that are being provided in the offering – If this is a hotel service then toiletries or chocolates are yours to take with you.   You the consumer own these and they are yours to take with you.      ...
Post a Comment
Read more

What is the difference between Process Owner, Process Manager and Process Practitioner?

By
This article was originally published in 2015. With the Introduction of ITIL 4, some of this best practice has changed. See  ITIL 4 and the Evolving Role of Roles . Updated Definitions in ITIL 4: Process Owner: In ITIL 4, the concept of 'processes' has expanded into broader 'practices.' Consequently, the Process Owner is now often referred to as the 'Practice Owner.' This individual is accountable for the overall design, performance, integration, and improvement of a specific practice within the organization. They ensure that the practice achieves its intended outcomes and aligns with the organization's objectives. Process Manager: Now commonly known as the 'Practice Manager' in ITIL 4, this role is responsible for the day-to-day management of the practice. The Practice Manager ensures that activities are carried out as intended, manages resources assigned to the practice, and oversees the practitioners performing the work. Process Practit...
Post a Comment
Read more