TWiET: How to Boost User Experiences in DevOps

A blog created by AI, edited by humans.

On episode 570 of This Week in Enterprise Tech, hosts Lou Maresca, Curtis Franklin, and Brian Chee were joined by Jenna Bilotta of LaunchDarkly to discuss enhancing user experiences in developer tools.

Bilotta argued that the historical view of engineers as a "highly technical audience" led many DevOps tools to prioritize configuration over ease of use. However, she advocates scaffolding complexity to make the most common experiences intuitive while retaining advanced customization.

The user interface thread continued as the hosts explored how focusing on "humanity" in design can build user trust and prevent incidents. Bilotta highlighted using friction thoughtfully around potentially harmful actions to increase attention to risks. She also called for baking best practices directly into DevOps products based on user research rather than leaving them siloed in documentation.

The crux of the conversation centered on closing the gap between users' evolving expectations set by consumer experiences like the iPhone and developer tools. While the panel agreed highly technical audiences have specialized needs, they concurred everyday usability can no longer be an afterthought. Prioritizing people is key to driving adoption. It's a great episode you don’t want to miss. 

Click here to download the episode.

Subscribe & Stay Informed: TWiT.tv/subscribe