Episode 178 | Donovan Brown - DevOps Joy And Human Rewards

Guest: Donovan Brown @DonovanBrown Donovan Brown talks with Dave Rael about growth, perspective, competition, DevOps, working for Microsoft, and speaking in front of audiences of all sizes Meet The Man in the Black Shirt. Donovan Brown is a Senior DevOps Program Manager on Microsoft's US Developer Division team. Why is DevOps one of the hottest topics? Because it hurts the most. Luckily, Donovan's unofficial tag line is #RubDevOpsOnIt and he's here to make it all better. Before joining Microsoft, Donovan spent seven years as a Process Consultant and a Certified Scrum Master. Developer Tools are his thing. Donovan has travelled the globe helping companies in the U.S., Canada, India, Germany, and the UK develop solutions using agile practices, Visual Studio, and Team Foundation Server in industries as broad as Communications, Health Care, Energy, and Financial Services. What else keeps the wheels spinning on The Man in The Black Shirt? Donovan's also an avid programmer, often finding ways to integrate software into his other hobbies and activities, one of which is Professional Air Hockey where he has ranked as high as 11 in the world. Chapters: 0:57 - Dave introduces the show and Donovan Brown4:04 - Donovan's journey to working at Microsoft5:39 - Keynoting with Scott Guthrie - "9 Minutes That Changed My LIfe"7:31 - Presenting in front of huge audiences - easier to be on stage in front of enormous crowds than with smaller audiences9:18 - Donovan's experience in realizing his dream of working for Microsoft and getting into speaking11:56 - Donovan's competitive nature, priorities, work ethic, and personal life16:05 - Donovan and Air Hockey19:26 - The things that "light Donovan up"25:20 - Donovan's nature as an extrovert and social comfort28:56 - Comfort on stage - excited instead of nervous31:14 - Advice for speakers36:07 - Visual Studio Team Services - History and what it is and does and the freedom to use any or all of it41:53 - The new Microsoft - "I don't have to ask you what language you program in. Nor do I have to ask you what platform you're targeting. The answer is yes."44:49 - How Donovan stays current with what he needs to know46:32 - Donovan's book recommendations47:48 - Donovan's top 3 tips for delivering more value48:55 - Keeping up with Donovan Resources: Donovan's Blog #RubDevOpsOnIt Donovan Introduced By Scott Guthrie at Build Confrence Keynote 2016 Donovan Introduced By Scott Guthrie at Connect Confrence Keynote 2015 Brian Keller Donovan's Air Hockey YouTube Channel - proTableSports Linda Rising on Developer On Fire with Kendall Rael - Including the Connection Between Nerves and Excitement Donovan Demonstrating "Zero to DevOps with VSTS" Donovan's book recommendation: Agile Software Development with Scrum (Series in Agile Software Development) - Ken Schwaber Agile Project Management with Scrum (Developer Best Practices) - Ken Schwaber Scrum and Xp from the Trenches 2nd Edition - Henrik Kniberg The Phoenix Project: A Novel about IT, DevOps, and Helping Your Business Win - Gene Kim Coding Faster: Getting More Productive with Microsoft Visual Studio: Covers Microsoft® Visual Studio® 2005, 2008, and 2010 (Developer Reference) - Zain Naboulsi Donovan's top 3 tips for delivering more value: Obsess over your customer - listen and understand their needs Deliver in short increments and get feedback Automate as much as you can - "Don't send a human being to do a machine's job"