CVS is a Fortune 10 company with over 230,000 employees that is undergoing a transformation to identify more closely with itself as a software company. In this effort, I played a leading role in modernizing their technology delivery techniques using DevSecOps principles and practices.
Timeframe: 2021
In order to effectively communicate how the DevSecOps team was going to provide assistance, we needed a tool that could convey a future state of an integrated software development approach. This tool would go beyond just piecemeal tools and processes and help to clearly illustrate the overall plan to the team.
In order to effectively communicate how the DevSecOps team was going to help, I conducted interviews with various members of the implementation team to gain a comprehensive understanding of what a future-state software delivery process would look like. Initially, there was only a fragmented understanding of the various pieces and parts, but no overall vision for the future. By integrating this future-state process, I was able to successfully consolidate the message and convey the benefits that teams would receive from our services.
To effectively convey how the DevSecOps team would assist, it was necessary to have a tool that would communicate the future state of an integrated software development approach. This tool would help teams understand the bigger picture, rather than just the individual tools and processes. Thus, a high-level graphic was used to help teams orient themselves and understand what needed to be done to align with the DevSecOps initiative. This graphic helped teams begin the process of enhancing their development approach and modernizing their processes.
An early draft that I began drawing to get an understanding of all the different dimensions of what CVS wanted to communicate to software teams
I decided to lay the process out on a chronological continuum to easier orient developers and analysis to their own understanding of software development
The end result. Notice the integration of Agile Development, Continuous Integration and Continuous deployment ideas at the bottom. Easy to understand the multiple Dev/Test/Prod phases of delivery. Notice the DecSecOps principles (Amplify feedback loops, customer centric action) throughout as well.
This graphic was used to orient new teams on what a future-state software delivery flow
We simplified a complex Star Wars-based maturity spectrum by consolidating it. As a result, teams were able to visualize and understand what was required to progress through each level. This helped them gain a clear understanding of what was expected and how to achieve their goals.
At CVS, there was a large proliferation of tools which made it difficult for teams to keep track of what was available for each function. To address this issue, we consolidated the types of tools which helped teams gain a better understanding of what tools were available to them for each function.
It was crucial to allow teams to comprehend the progress made from the early development days to DevOps to DevSecOps because it played a significant role in influencing and persuading them that our team was there to support them. This helped teams understand how we could assist them in achieving their goals and improving their processes.
A zoomed-in view of pre-deploy vs post-deploy at CVS
The DevSecOps (DSO) team encountered internal confusion regarding their goals and how they could assist other teams. To address this issue, the DSO Adoption Pipeline was developed to identify areas of focus based on the maturity levels of each team.
Following discussions with DevSecOps (DSO) leadership, it was deemed necessary to provide the DSO team with clarity. To achieve this, I developed a graphic that integrates the levels of maturity, coaching support options, and metrics associated with each level. This graphic provides a comprehensive view that incorporates multiple perspectives.
After using the graphic that was created, the DSO team was able to gain a better understanding of where they could provide support for teams based on their position on the maturity spectrum. This allowed the DSO team to better guide and coach each team according to their specific needs.
Notice the star wars maturity levels on the right, the key team application data for each phase, objectives built into the engagement phase, and high level direct on the left.
To initiate the coaching process and generate curiosity for change, I engaged a collection of teams and helped them understand their current state. This allowed us to identify areas that needed improvement and develop a plan to address them.
Large organizations often find it difficult to manage the complexity of their environments, including the challenge of focusing on outcomes within a framework that measures every step of the process. It's crucial to keep in mind the organization's ultimate goal for each product or service it provides. However, in some cases, efforts to standardize and measure progress can cause the customer to be overlooked. This is especially true when old mental models are used to implement new ones, resulting in a failure to effect meaningful change.
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