Eliminate > Automate > Delegate

01 May 2017 . category: . Comments

A couple weeks ago I picked up some new responsibilites at work. Time consuming, low tech and (I am told) routine work, not the kind I welcome. I will omit the specifics because they are unimportant but it is work that, in its current form, requires sysadmin involvement so it legitimately cannot be bounced back to it’s origin.

<h2>

Why don't you document it and send it to the L1 support team to handle?</h2>

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Why don't you automate it?</h2>

These are questions I have fielded from coworkers. All reasonable suggestions and consistent with the “Automate Everything” mantra of DevOps.

My response is reflected in a quote from author Tim Ferris: <h2>

Never automate something that can be eliminated, and never delegate something that can be automated or streamlined. Otherwise, you waste someone else's time instead of your own...</h2>

Goal #1 is to eliminate. Ideally process or code changes will be made so these tasks don’t need to be performed at all. By automation or otherwise.

Dalek Exterminate

Goal #2 would be to automate, but automation isn’t free - just preferable and more cost effective than human intervention.

Goal #3 is delegate to dedicated support staff. I want to respect their time and delegate only that which cannot be automated nor eliminated.

Geoff Purdy is a husband, father and techie. He lives in the Bull City, where he works in DevOps. In his spare time, Geoff likes functional programming.