Category Archives: Complexity

Can Platform Engineering Hide Complexity?

Is platform engineering effective at hiding complexity from developers? Today we tear apart what platform engineering is doing, how it came about and what it’s trying to be.

We discuss what companies are trying to accomplish with platform engineering – how can successful efforts improve outcomes for development teams and operations teams by improving collaboration in contracts? Why and how is that important, and what do those efforts entail?

Transcript: otter.ai/u/bVd1_IwEqFD-uEYxsy…?utm_source=copy_url
Image: www.pexels.com/photo/woman-posin…erwater-15674505/

Rob’s Hot Take:

In the Cloud 2030 podcast episode on platform engineering, Rob Hirschfeld, CEO of RackN, explores the profound impact of platform engineering on operational efficiency and developer complexity. He emphasizes the discipline’s role in making operations accessible, efficient, and repeatable, leading to significant benefits for companies and DevOps teams. While discussing how platform engineering can hide complexity, Hirschfeld highlights the ongoing essential work involved, debunking the notion of shortcuts and emphasizing the value it adds to organizations. He invites listeners to join discussions at the 2030.cloud, where important technology topics are analyzed in depth.

The Dangers of Interconnected Systems

What are the challenges of interconnectedness and transparency, specifically concerning Kubernetes and cloud native applications?

We have a fascinating discussion sparked by the question of how exposed we are. What happens when something we don’t know is connected is open and exposed as hackable? What happens when it closes, and we didn’t know?

We talked about how this is inherent in the architecture of cloud native applications and what you can do about it.

This discussion should get you thinking about how to architect not just your applications, but the platforms that you need to connect together to make them work.

Transcript: otter.ai/u/6m6yPHG7cV_lrmdOEPGyHmo1ifM
Image: www.pexels.com/photo/men-pulling…n-a-rope-7678454/

Real Life Chaos Monkeys And Other Infrastructure Challenges

How do we use chaos monkeys in real life, and practically? This happens all the time when we have failures. The Rogers failure that took out the internet and cell phone use in Canada last week was the start of our discussion.

Predicting how things are going to go out is a common theme for chaos monkeys, and really comes back to how we test infrastructure. Should we be putting it under stress in planned ways like Chaos Monkey, in order to ensure that our increasingly internet and power dependent society is prepared for the inevitable outages?

We have a really fascinating discussion about what it would take to make this type of practice real, including alternatives that people can look at today.

Transcript: otter.ai/u/D0ZV5c3ikvAiinsK7ugf_duCjv8
Image: www.pexels.com/photo/monkey-sitt…s-hands-11999152/

Training Teams to Fight Complexity

How do we manage complexity? Today we discuss sources of complexity and explore design rules. We also talk about how you think about the systems that you’re building in ways that allow them to handle complexity gracefully.

The simple answer is to have people who are good at thinking about complex systems. Part of that is experience in looking at complex systems, seeing how they operate and being ready to deal with that type of thing like training pilots.

How we get to that insight is really significant, and it impacts how you build teams and systems. In addition to how you build systems that defend themselves that are naturally complex, but have the right defense mechanisms to make them more stable over the long term.

Transcript: otter.ai/u/f2t7gZfQhzG1Dgeg5ePwFHZOTmw
Image: www.pexels.com/photo/colorful-fu…ironment-3872003/

Rob’s Hot Take:

In the June 28th episode, Rob Hirschfeld delves into the topic of complexity, emphasizing the inevitability of complex systems in real-world scenarios. The discussion highlights the importance of training individuals to navigate and manage complex systems effectively, suggesting that exposure and interaction with complexity are critical learning experiences. The key takeaway underscores the need for proactive training to equip individuals with the skills to handle and defend complex systems, ultimately preventing the creation of increasingly fragile structures. For a comprehensive exploration of the human element in dealing with complexity, listen to the entire podcast at the2030.cloud and join the ongoing discussions.

Defending Against Complexity With Exercise

How do you manage complexity? Something we talk about a lot in Cloud2030 is how challenging it is to understand complexity, measure it and cope with it.

Richard Cooke wrote a paper called “How Complex Systems Fail,” (how.complexsystems.fail) and in it he talks about complex systems having strong defense mechanisms against failure. That’s what we talked about today. How do we build defense mechanisms for complex systems, not by making them simpler, but by exercising them and testing them?

We discuss the importance of testing, validation, and layer of abstraction and testing the layers in this conversation. If you deal with complex systems, this discussion will be fascinating and actionable.

Transcript: otter.ai/u/SP-z7OAJWAmJlql8Dh62rNk2hlo
Image: www.pexels.com/photo/man-woman-m…ng-young-4058411/

Rob’s Hot Take:

In the May 24th DevOps lunch and learn, Rob Hirschfeld delves into the concept of making complex systems defensible by exercising and testing them thoroughly. Emphasizing the importance of shared automation and collaborative efforts within communities, he cites examples like Kubernetes and OpenStack as complex systems made more defensible through widespread testing and shared code. While complexity cannot be eliminated, actively exercising systems enhances their defensibility. Join the ongoing discussions and explore the intricacies of complexity management at the2030.cloud.

Complexity vs Value [& Okta hack]

The Okta hack highlights the value versus complexity trade off. In today’s episode, we ask if the complexity of using single sign on is the right move in this context. We also think about how to deal with these interconnected systems that have high degrees of complexity.

We also discussed API design, and whether or not we should have more rigid or flexible APIs. You can’t remove complexity from the system, but you can hide it. The structure of APIs will push complexity into either the users’ realm or the operators’ realm.

Transcript: otter.ai/u/cftY6wlMTzAceT2EiHF4u4u0dpE
Image: www.pexels.com/photo/photo-of-an…ng-money-7884134/

Rob’s Hot Take:

In the Cloud 2030 Podcast on March 24th, Rob Hirschfeld delves into the complex relationship between complexity, value, and immutability in system design, particularly focusing on API interfaces. He emphasizes the trade-offs involved in exposing options to users, providing flexibility but potentially increasing complexity. The discussion highlights the practicality of using immutability and templates to control API complexity, acknowledging the challenges of finding the right balance and the importance of transparency in decision-making. To explore these insights further, listen to the full episode on March 24th at the2030.cloud and participate in these open conversations.

Is Complexity Real?

Today’s episode is about measuring complexity. Complexity is a topic that we cover a lot. And in this case, we really went past the idea that we could measure complexity, and into looking at the causes and costs of complexity.

We had a remarkable conversation about what it means to say something’s too complex? What are the consequences of complexity? And what should we do about them? Ultimately, it’s about how how we measure the cost or the risk of complexity?

In the end, we are reframing complexity in business terms and human terms. That is the important approach to looking at complexity.

Transcript: otter.ai/u/qOBFHwMfUd0ELCnnD63AXcTLe9I
Photo: www.pexels.com/photo/colorful-th…on-floor-5723513/

Rob’s Hot Take:

In the March 3rd Cloud 2030 Podcast discussion on complexity, Rob Hirschfeld delves into the notion that measuring or fully understanding complexity might be challenging, leading to an exploration of its sources and causes. The conversation shifts towards viewing complexity through the lenses of risk and change management, reframing it as a challenge rather than inherently negative. The nuanced discussion emphasizes the importance of mitigating complexity-related risks for more productive outcomes. To engage in these conversations and enhance your understanding of complexity, visit the2030.cloud.

Can We Measure Complexity?

We seem to be very worried about complexity in technology, but how bad is it really? Do we have a way of measuring complexity? Figuring out how to actually quantify it could help eliminate and manage it.

We started by discussing mathematical concepts to capture the systemic nature of complexity. That turns out to be really hard, so we got into some really interesting thoughts about what it takes to manage and understand complexity. Is it even possible to measure complexity? The group is mixed.

Transcript: otter.ai/u/qWkkgyKCXX89jcirBdni9ExkOq8
Photo: www.pexels.com/photo/random-obje…-balance-9304725/

Can DevOps Be More Collaborative / MSFT & Activision

We have a lot of questions about improving collaboration in organizations:
How do we deal with change in organizations
How can we get organizations to work together better?
How do we encourage collaboration around the automation spaces that we’re trying to build in DevOps.

In our discussion, a lot came back to something as simple as version control!

We also discuss how we handle coupling between systems. In order to collaborate, we have to couple systems. But if we couple them, we create complexity.

This podcast includes our warm up conversation about Microsoft acquiring Activision because that is ALSO about how you integrate to organizations and business plans! This was news of the day and I think you’ll be very interested in our take on it.

Transcript: otter.ai/u/itNrmoL9MgG980D8CZdo9XWd-xI
Image: www.pexels.com/photo/a-woman-pla…ith-kids-7176471/