In the ownership trio, we discussed 3 elements: Knowledge, Mandate and Responsibility. This article digs into various broken ownership scenarios where 1-2 of those elements are missing, what are the common symptoms and how to fix them.
> To know the difference between SRE and DevOps ask them what they do when an incident happens
While most people tend to _like_ to roll forward, IMO, the sane / smart thing to do is almost always to roll back, and I think folks with experience will generally do that, whether they're a SWE, SRE, or "DevOps Engineer".
IMO, many job titles to the contrary, DevOps is a methodology, not a title.
Re: roll-back vs fix-forward, I agree, one needs to look at each situation and see what's the best resolution. However, if the person responsible for the code sees it as black box and doesn't see the option to fix-forward, it's the sign of broken ownership.
Of course you can translate this post. Send me a link to put at the top so it's easier to find. There are a few conditions to do it as well as possible. Please read the section under "Q. Can I translate your post?" at
Thank you for your article. It helps me understand the situation I'm in more deeply and the options I have. I hope that more people can read this and gain a better grasp on the concept of ownership.
> The compliment of the monkey
typo here - should be complement.
> To know the difference between SRE and DevOps ask them what they do when an incident happens
While most people tend to _like_ to roll forward, IMO, the sane / smart thing to do is almost always to roll back, and I think folks with experience will generally do that, whether they're a SWE, SRE, or "DevOps Engineer".
IMO, many job titles to the contrary, DevOps is a methodology, not a title.
Fixed the typo.
Re: roll-back vs fix-forward, I agree, one needs to look at each situation and see what's the best resolution. However, if the person responsible for the code sees it as black box and doesn't see the option to fix-forward, it's the sign of broken ownership.
It went up on Hackernews: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37225397
@Alex
Your writing has had such a good impact on me. Thank you so much for your wonderful article.
I'm a developer from Korea.
Do you mind if I translate some or all of your article and share it on a non-profit Korean developer community site with credit?
Hi Rhio,
Thanks for the compliments.
Of course you can translate this post. Send me a link to put at the top so it's easier to find. There are a few conditions to do it as well as possible. Please read the section under "Q. Can I translate your post?" at
https://blog.alexewerlof.com/about
Thank you for your article. It helps me understand the situation I'm in more deeply and the options I have. I hope that more people can read this and gain a better grasp on the concept of ownership.
Thank you Raymond. You can raise awareness by sharing it in your circles. Glad you found it useful.