In Episode 53 of DevOps Radio , host Andre Pino is joined by industry thought leader Sam Newman. Sam is an author, speaker and independent consultant (previously at Thoughtworks) who specializes in cloud storage and microservices. In addition to sharing more than 20 years’ worth of industry insight, Sam provides analogies and examples a plenty for listeners who may still be trying to grasp what a microservice is. Sam jokes that he’s been stuck in an enjoyable rut for the last 15 years, working with interesting people like Jez Humble and building the Lego XP game that helped people learn Agile (like many of us, if there’s an excuse to buy a Lego, Sam’s up for it).
As the author of Building Microservices and an expert on the topic, Sam says organizations need to have a good reason for using microservices. For the listener’s benefit, Sam compared microservices adoption to a dial – not a switch – where you steadily continue to turn it up all the time instead of fully committing and flipping the switch right off the bat. He also reiterates that developers need to have a clear understanding of what they’re trying to accomplish with microservice adoption, otherwise it can be hard to justify the time it takes to implement.
Sam also explains that another key part of microservices adoption is aligning it with an organizational structure. The idea “you build it, you run it, you ship it” doesn’t work for everyone. Instead the business needs to focus on empowering the entire team since those in power have to give some of it up while others who aren’t typically in control need to learn how to step it up.
Before the conversation wraps, Sam discusses how organizations can bring together all of the elements of software development with the rise of containers and Kubernetes underway. Sam explains the key here is bringing continuous integration (CI) and continuous delivery (CD) ideas into the application. Luckily, the technology for CD is in a really good place since most organizations understand what needs to be done and are now iterating on tools and techniques. However, Sam also notes where there is room for improvement including gaps on code hygiene, neglect for measuring cycle time and too many siloed roles.
For more guidance on the adoption of microservices visit, buildingmicroservices.com . Or, if you want to hear more from top 100 DevOps movers and shakers like Sam Newman, make sure to subscribe to DevOps Radio on Spotify and iTunes .
Additional resources
Watch a webinar on using DevOps and microservices
Read more about the value of open source for Jenkins and Jenkins X
Learn about value stream mapping for microservices