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I'd like to provide a counter-argument. Every software release includes risk. There's risk that there are bugs. There's risk that it will introduce regressio

by tim58 7y ago

I'd like to provide a counter-argument. Every software release includes risk. There's risk that there are bugs. There's risk that it will introduce regressions. There's risk it will cause a major crash. We can do things that reduce the risk. We can have recovery plans for negative outcomes. We cannot eliminate all risk. The reason businesses have black-out deploy dates is so that they can control the risk. Deploying code 24 hours before a critical business day, like black friday is for some businesses, is an entirely different risk/reward ratio and should be treated different. Even 90 day risk periods can be valid for some businesses, for example seasonal businesses during peak season.

tialaramex 7y ago
> The reason businesses have black-out deploy dates is so that they can control the risk. Deploying code 24 hours before a critical business day, like black friday is for some businesses, is an entirely different risk/reward ratio and should be treated different. Even 90 day risk periods can be valid for some businesses, for example seasonal businesses during peak season. That's a completely valid strategy, but as I explained you need to actually embrace the consequences of this strategy in your thinking. If the next 90 days are a "risk period" then when somebody says "Next week" they actually mean "Three months from now" not "Next week" and everybody in the business needs to start thinking that way. Sometimes that's going to cost a bunch of money. For example, if you have such a 90 day period covering November, December, January as in my example, then a system which alerts you to certificates on public facing web sites that expire in less than 30 days time is no good, you can't act for 90 whole days, so that system needs to be re-calibrated for more like 100 days. Once you accept the 90 day risk period as a reality rather than a convenient fiction it gets very expensive. Make sure the people who insisted on this risk period are paying, because that's the only way they'll learn anything from it. If you don't make them pay for the actual consequences of a 90 day risk period (e.g. hiring a lot more staff, buying more expensive products that don't need intervention) then of course they're going to keep increasing this magic "It's not my fault" period and you'll pay the price in your sanity.

by tim58 7y ago

tialaramex 7y ago

> The reason businesses have black-out deploy dates is so that they can control the risk. Deploying code 24 hours before a critical business day, like black friday is for some businesses, is an entirely different risk/reward ratio and should be treated different. Even 90 day risk periods can be valid for some businesses, for example seasonal businesses during peak season. That's a completely valid strategy, but as I explained you need to actually embrace the consequences of this strategy in your thinking. If the next 90 days are a "risk period" then when somebody says "Next week" they actually mean "Three months from now" not "Next week" and everybody in the business needs to start thinking that way. Sometimes that's going to cost a bunch of money. For example, if you have such a 90 day period covering November, December, January as in my example, then a system which alerts you to certificates on public facing web sites that expire in less than 30 days time is no good, you can't act for 90 whole days, so that system needs to be re-calibrated for more like 100 days. Once you accept the 90 day risk period as a reality rather than a convenient fiction it gets very expensive. Make sure the people who insisted on this risk period are paying, because that's the only way they'll learn anything from it. If you don't make them pay for the actual consequences of a 90 day risk period (e.g. hiring a lot more staff, buying more expensive products that don't need intervention) then of course they're going to keep increasing this magic "It's not my fault" period and you'll pay the price in your sanity.