Alan Shimel highlights the impact of John Willis on the DevOps and DevSecOps communities, focusing on foundational frameworks and the cultural shift required for security and collaboration.

John Willis: The True North of DevOps and DevSecOps

Over his 14-plus year journey in the DevOps space, Alan Shimel has learned the importance of culture, collaboration, and shared learning—elements embodied by John Willis, a pioneer in DevOps and a major proponent of DevSecOps. Willis’s contributions span co-authoring essential DevOps books, frequent conference speaking, and emphasizing curiosity and continuous improvement.

Beyond Pipelines: The Essence of DevOps

Willis argues that while CI/CD pipelines and automation are vital, true DevOps is rooted in people, culture, and collaboration—not just tools and speed. His philosophy resists the dilution of DevOps into a buzzword, highlighting the enduring importance of relationships and knowledge sharing within teams.

CAMS: The DevOps Compass

Introduced by Willis and Damon Edwards, CAMS stands for:

  • Culture: Trust, empathy, and collaboration as the foundation.
  • Automation: Leveraging tools to unlock higher-value work.
  • Measurement: Using metrics for data-driven improvement.
  • Sharing: Distributing knowledge, mistakes, and successes alike.

CAMS is not a doctrine but a guiding principle, helping teams remain focused as new technologies and trends emerge.

Integrating Security: DevSecOps and DASP

Willis’s recent work, including the LinkedIn post ‘Security Is Behavior: DASP and DevOps,’ reinforces that security must be a shared responsibility embedded throughout development. He critiques treating security as a checklist or tooling problem, instead calling for deeper behavioral and cultural integration—a central tenet of DevSecOps.

DASP (DevSecOps Automated Security Patterns) takes recurring security problems and codifies solutions, making security a continuous, repeatable part of DevOps—instead of an afterthought bolted on later.

The Enduring Message

As DevOps matures, leaders like John Willis help the industry remember its origins and true meaning. DevOps is sustained by people, cultural alignment, and collective responsibility for quality and security.

“DevOps was always about: people, behavior, culture, and shared responsibility.”

Willis’s leadership continues to guide the community back to these fundamentals, reinforcing why DevOps—and DevSecOps—matter.

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