Switching lanes and finding a calling in DevOps

Welcome to the latest edition of AmnicCast! In this blog, we’re excited to feature Melissa Parker, a DevOps leader at Corebridge Financial, an insurance company in central New Jersey. Her career journey is nothing short of inspiring, having transitioned from an administrative assistant to a key player in the DevOps landscape. Join us as she shares her story and insights on the challenges and innovations in the field.

The Path to DevOps

Melissa started her career as an administrative assistant in a company that provided data for advertising agencies. Her initial role involved helping colleagues with technical issues related to software and printers. Recognizing her skills, the company invited her to join their newly established internal help desk, marking the beginning of her journey into IT.

As she navigated various roles—supervising the help desk, procuring hardware, and performing system administration—Melissa gained valuable experience. After a stint in quality assurance and production support, she found herself at her current insurance company in 2008, where she embraced roles in change and release management and project management.

In 2018, as the company adopted Agile methodologies, Melissa seized the opportunity to join a DevOps team. She started writing Chef scripts and building infrastructure with Terraform, eventually leading to her current role as the head of the DevOps Center of Excellence.

Melissa's success story is also one of continuous learning and education. In 2007, she pursued an online degree in computer science while balancing a full-time job. This commitment enhanced her technical skills and laid the foundation for her career advancement in a field where women are often underrepresented. Melissa’s journey underscores the importance of lifelong learning in achieving professional goals.

Navigating Developer Experience Challenges

As a leader in DevOps, Melissa faces several challenges in enhancing the developer experience. Some of these include:

• Outdated Technology: Existing tools are aging and often lack user-friendliness, which makes them less appealing to developers.

• Slow Automation: Developers experience frustration due to slow automation processes, which hinder productivity.

• Complex Logs: During pipeline failures, the complexity of logs can lead to confusion and delays in troubleshooting.

Solutions Implemented by Melissa's Team

1. Gathered Feedback:

   • Initiated roundtables and communication sessions with application development teams to understand their pain points and gather valuable feedback.

2. Roadmap Development:

   • Creating a comprehensive roadmap that focuses on:

     • Tool Improvements: Prioritizing upgrades and enhancements to existing tools for better usability and efficiency.

     • Security Enhancements: Implementing security measures to protect applications while ensuring smooth developer operations.

     • Self-Service Capabilities: Developing self-service tools that empower developers to resolve issues independently and efficiently.

3. Adoption Rate Goal:

   • Striving to increase the adoption rate of CI/CD pipelines from 46% to over 75% through improved processes and tools.

Building a Strong Developer Experience

Melissa envisions a developer experience that enables teams to access automation tools swiftly to reduce the need for extensive documentation. Centralized logging, quicker pipelines, and lower error rates are vital to her team’s objectives. They are actively evaluating various tools to bridge gaps and improve security without hindering developer productivity.

By prioritizing developer experience, Melissa’s team aims to create an environment where developers can thrive and innovate without being bogged down by unnecessary obstacles

Collaborating with FinOps for Cloud Cost Management

An essential aspect of Melissa’s role involves collaborating closely with a dedicated FinOps team to manage cloud costs effectively. This collaboration emphasizes the importance of right-sizing resources, conducting thorough business case analyses, and implementing a data retention policy to minimize unnecessary expenses.

Tools like AWS's cost measurement features play a really important role in monitoring spending and ensuring that her team stays informed about resource utilization and cost implications. By working together with the FinOps team, Melissa’s team can make data-driven decisions that optimize cloud resource usage while managing costs effectively.

Implementing Data Management Strategies

Melissa’s team implements a robust data retention policy to manage stored data efficiently. They encourage teams to review and delete unnecessary data and leverage services like Amazon S3 and Glacier for cost-effective storage solutions.

Will AI Shape the Future of DevOps?

As Melissa reflects on her career so far, she expresses interest in exploring the potential of artificial intelligence to enhance DevOps practices and improve productivity. While her company approaches AI cautiously, Melissa's personal exploration demonstrates the promise of AI for future integration into the workplace.

AI's potential applications in DevOps could lead to more efficient processes, smarter automation, and better resource management, all of which will align with Melissa's commitment to continuous improvement.

Takeaways from Melissa's Career Path

Melissa’s journey from administrative assistant to DevOps engineer exemplifies the power of perseverance and adaptability. Her insights into building a successful developer experience, managing cloud costs, and embracing emerging technologies provide valuable lessons for anyone in the tech field.

Here’s what the key takeaways look like:

1. You should focus on continuous learning and adapt to new technologies to advance in your career.

2. Foster open communication and collaboration with development teams to enhance the developer experience.

3. Understand the total ownership of resources and work closely with FinOps teams to optimize costs.

4. Stay open to new technologies, such as AI, to enhance efficiency and productivity.

Did this blog get you a little too curious about Melissa’s take on DevOps? Watch the full video here!