DevOps Enablement with/within GitLab
Problem to solve
We want everyone to contribute. But they need to know how...
DevOps has a skills shortage (see: https://thenewstack.io/why-it-is-difficult-to-hire-for-devops/; https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/devops-institute-announces-the-2019-upskilling-enterprise-devops-skills-report-300805795.html; https://www.information-age.com/demand-for-devops-skills-123475611/).
We can (and do) help this by making GitLab easier to use e.g. AutoDevOps, AutoRemediation and WebIDE all help.
We could also look at how we upskill people before they start with - and while they are using - GitLab.
Intended users
- Those coming from legacy tooling and methodologies;
- Those starting DevOps programmes or transformation initiatives;
- Companies with skills gaps identified for their current DevOps programmes.
Further details
Metrics driven model with org, project/team and individual level. Example questions below:
- Org level, where we look at the value stream, are there bottlenecks that we should power up skills?
- Project/team level, do all of my team members have the required skills for the tasks we are asking of them?
- Individual level, how do I improve my personal skills/knowledge of DevOps/GitLab?
Proposal
We can either offer this ourselves or partner with 3rd parties already on the market, such as Pluralsight (https://www.pluralsight.com/ - recent acquirers of GitPrime: https://techcrunch.com/2019/05/01/pluralsight-will-acquire-gitprime-for-170m/), Udacity (https://eu.udacity.com/) or Linux Academy (https://linuxacademy.com/).
Requirements/barriers to entry for building would be:
- A dedicated content creation team;
- Creating a link between a DevOps platform (which we have) and that content (which we would have to create);
- Vision: tying the two meaningfully together, so that what happens in GitLab, can suggest content in the enablement platform;
Requirements for partnering:
- Content for all the platforms we want to support;
- Once that content is published, it will need to be kept up to date;