7 Site Reliability Engineering Ideals

Running a successful SRE team in the enterprise can be challenging but also rewarding. An important part of any high performing team is that everyone is aligned on goals. A way to achieve this is to establish and collect group buy-in on core ideals. In the pursuit of perfection and excellence, the following ideals have helped my team become one of the best SRE teams in the company.

· Care and Trust

There are going to be times where we cannot always cure what is in front of us, but 100% of the time we can care. We should always care about the applications we support and the people that rely on us. A big part of caring is trusting each other. Trusting that we will always have each other’s back and always have the team’s best interest in mind whenever we make a decision.

When asked what separates a good SRE from a great SRE, great SREs care.

· Curiosity and Ownership

We should always be curious. Every day. Ask what if? Ask why? Ask why 5 times until you get to the root of the question you are asking to get to the answer you are seeking. We should be on the borderline of obsession. It is that small annoying roommate in your head that keeps asking questions. Once you are curious, ownership is natural. You will ensure that the effort does not go dormant. You will make sure we get answers and drive progress and that velocity is always moving in the right direction.

You wont stop until it is solved!

· No Stone Unturned

Never discount anything without evidence and data. Look everywhere as a possible cause for the challenge you are solving. Don’t overlook the obvious. Start with the basics and branch out from there until you have literally checked everything. Often times the challenge is hiding in plain sight but is disregarded early on. Could it be “A”? Check it. Can’t be “B”…sure? check it, why not.

Be thorough and at the very least you will learn something along the way.

· Healthy conflict, not false peace

Teams should not pretend to like one another. We should challenge one another in a healthy and respectful way. If there is a challenge or a conflict discuss it in the next team meeting. Talk through it with the person one-on-one. Don’t hide from it. Don’t avoid it. Don’t sweep it under the rug. Get it out in the open when it arises. Some of the best breakthroughs have been a result of the conversations from healthy conflicts amongst the team. Faking it will just delay it. When it is bottled up long enough it may be hard for team members and the team to recover from the explosion.

It is good to know where everyone stands, that we are aligned which builds trust.

· Embrace Risk

I often ask interviewees what is their biggest failure. I am amazed that after 5,10 and even 15+ years of experience they do not have one, or at least not willing to share. Or it is so small that it shows that they never took a risk. Why? Failure is where we learn. The most cemented lessons come from messing up. Deep learning comes when a strong emotion is tied to it. Create a safe place where you can take risks. A blameless culture where we all learn from it. Whether it is a process gap, training gap, etc…There is always something to be learned as long as we are always pushing the envelope.

Be confident. Act with conviction. Take the risk and learn from failure.

· Provide service so great, clients will never leave

Whether you are serving external or internal clients, the approach is the same. The goal is to provide 5-star / VIP service. That means responding to people quickly. Following through. Completing projects and efforts on time. Keeping your word. Pretend you are the CEO of this new startup and the success of the company depends on the service you give. This goes back to the first ideal, care. Care about everything you do including communication, consistency and execution.

Be so great you are irreplaceable and you will be missed if you were gone.

· Question conventional wisdom

Just because something has been done a certain way for years or forever means nothing. Question it. Question everything. It goes back to being curious and caring. To not question would violate those ideals. As we strive for excellence and perfection, a goal we will never truly reach but enjoy the journey any way, we have to be creative in our approach in solving modern challenges. It may require using a new technology, service or approach. It may require going back to a former one. The idea that it cant be “A” because of “B” and “C” can be limiting. Question it. Test it. Play with it. Make a game out of it. Don’t just do things because the book said so. Or an expert said so. Or that is how the company or team has been doing it for 5 years. If the pioneers and mavericks didn’t question and defy conventional wisdom we would not have the accelerated technology growth we have been enjoying for decades. Don’t fall victim to this trap.

Think for yourself, be curious, care and make a ruckus!