# CALMS: A Principle-Based DevOps Framework **September 23, 2019** By Ember DeBoer 5 minute read time In this article series, we're discussing the following three principle-based [DevOps](/content/resources/articles/what-is-devops/index.html) frameworks. The [first](/content/blog/principle-based-devops-frameworks-three-ways/index.html) DevOps framework was **The Three Ways** as described in _The Phoenix Project_ and _The DevOps Handbook._ The [second](/content/blog/principle-based-devops-frameworks-accelerate/index.html) was _Accelerate's_ Technical and Management Practices of High-Performing DevOps Teams. Today we'll look at the CALMS DevOps framework. ## DevOps Framework #3: CALMS (Culture, Automation, Lean, Measurement, Sharing) Created by Jez Humble, co-author of _The DevOps Handbook_ and _Accelerate_, the CALMS framework is used to assess whether an organization is ready to adopt DevOps processes, or how an organization is progressing in their DevOps transformation. It is based on the following five pillars: - **Culture:** Before silos can be torn down, there needs to be a culture of shared responsibility, or at least a group of people dedicated to establishing a culture of DevOps best practices in a grassroots type of way, with management approval and support. - **Automation:** Similar to the technical practices centered around continuous delivery mentioned above, the CALMS DevOps framework says teams undertaking a DevOps transformation should be devoted to automating as many manual tasks as possible, especially with respect to continuous integration and test automation. - **Lean:** Development teams are using lean DevOps practices to eliminate waste and optimize the value stream, such as minimizing WIP, making work visible, and reducing hand-off complexity and wait times. - **Measurement:** The organization collects data on their processes, deployments, etc., to understand their current capabilities and where improvements could be achieved. - **Sharing:** A culture of openness and sharing within and between teams (and enabled with the proper tools) keeps everyone working toward the same goals and eases friction with hand-offs when issues arise. ## So, What Do These DevOps Best Practices Have in Common? As you looked at the different frameworks in this article, I'm sure you noticed several recurring DevOps best practices, themes, and common elements among them. In this section, I want to distill three key DevOps practices that help promote a virtuous cycle — positive outcomes that continue to be reinforced and strengthened as they are iterated on — as you mature DevOps in your organization. They are the 3Cs: - Culture - Collaboration - Continuous Improvement ### Culture Once again, culture is a broad term that can mean different things to different people. But as we discussed in our [DevOps definition article](/content/blog/definition-of-devops/index.html), DevOps culture change is one of the foundational aspects of DevOps that other technical and management practices must build upon to succeed. As _Accelerate_ authors discuss, Ron Westrum's culture typologies for organizations can range from pathological (power-oriented) to bureaucratic (rule-oriented) to generative (performance-oriented). A generative culture is one in which bridging between teams is encouraged, risks are shared, and failure leads to inquiry, rather than finger-pointing. Working toward these cultural paradigm shifts — and giving them time to take hold through practice — is an important first step. ### Collaboration Once the groundwork of a generative culture is laid — one in which everyone feels safe enough to "put themselves out there," experiment, admit failures, and try again without fear of punishment or shame — greater collaboration can begin to be unlocked within and among teams. Empowered employees are more open to sharing and receiving feedback, and the more actions are witnessed, the more others on the team will begin to emulate similar behaviors. Performance and shared goals begin to be prioritized over protecting oneself or one's silo. ### Continuous Improvement Finally, once the teams are collaborating well, with everyone taking personal responsibility for performance, the continuous improvement piece begins to take care of itself. Here is where leadership can continue to reinforce a learning culture, one where taking time outside of the usual job responsibilities to work on personal and organizational improvements is key to keeping this virtuous cycle's momentum going. Every organization will implement these DevOps practices differently. For example, some may choose Kanban over Scrum as a means of collaboration; others may prefer Travis over Jenkins for CI/CD. What's important to realize is that, regardless of implementation details, decisions should be guided by and also reinforce the concepts of Culture, Collaboration, and Continuous Improvement. ## Sources - [Accelerate: The Science of Lean Software and DevOps: Building and Scaling High Performing Technology Organizations](https://itrevolution.com/product/accelerate/) by Nicole Forsgren PhD, Jez Humble, and Gene Kim - [CALMS definition](https://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/CALMS) - [The DevOps Handbook: How to Create World-Class Agility, Reliability, & Security in Technology Organizations](https://itrevolution.com/product/the-devops-handbook-second-edition/) by Gene Kim, Jez Humble, Patrick Debois, & John Willis - [The Phoenix Project: A Novel About IT, DevOps, and Helping Your Business Win](https://itrevolution.com/product/the-phoenix-project/) by Gene Kim, Kevin Behr, & George Spafford - [The Three Ways: The Principles Underpinning DevOps](https://itrevolution.com/articles/the-three-ways-principles-underpinning-devops/) by Gene Kim - [Using CALMS to Assess DevOps Organizations](https://devops.com/using-calms-to-assess-organizations-devops/) by B. Cameron Gain Written by **Ember DeBoer** Ember is Senior Tech Content Developer at Sonatype.