I have always been fascinated with space, space travel, the stars, etc. I always wanted to be a pilot, but alas my vision does not permit that. I still have a love for all things fast! Because of my love of space, I have always been interested in NASA, the space shuttle, etc. My dad is also into that stuff, so he partly drove my interest. I would never have thought of making similarities regarding the technical work I do and NASA.
A few years back Gus got me thinking about technical operations. How a data center is run. How a corporate network is run. He always made the comparison of run the network like NASA runs a space mission. Granted I will be the first person to say what I do is not NASA, but it is the process that we are trying to mimic and not space travel!
Now at first I was like how do you compare the two? The answer is it is all in the procedure. It doesn’t matter what you are doing (putting a person into space, or launching a website) it is the operational theory that ensures that things go right. Sounds far fetched? Maybe. Maybe you have to manage some sort of technical operations to understand?
The basis for this theory as I see it is the following:
1. Never assume anything
2. Have a minute by minute plan for all tasks
3. Have contingencies for everything (when possible). Also note points of no return, roll back’s etc.
4. If a mistake happens, isolate it and ensure it never happens again.
There is a ton more things to go over, but sitting here those are the biggest things that come to mind. It boils down to never leaving anything to chance.
This type of thinking got me (kicking and screaming sometimes) to put together firm policies and procedures to keep our network operating. Every time we have an issue come up it is, how do we prevent this from happening again? I am learning that Technical Operations is really a way of thinking, not just a job!
I am thinking about it more today because I am in the middle of reading “Failure is not an option” by Gene Kranz. Gus gave me the book over a year ago. I started to read it but got side tracked. For some reason I sat down to read it today and I finished half of the book. It is a fascinating read. I don’t know why I stopped reading it last summer. It makes me want to continue my efforts at “operationalizing” things at work. And everyone wonders why I am such a pain in the ass about documenting everything. I do have a method for my madness! It is all about the process. No one person can hold any bit of information. That is why the NASA guys would pretend people had accidents during simulations to ensure that if the real thing happened, everything would work normally! Like I said, a fascinating read. Back to the book for me!
