Hey everyone, I work for a company that has around 400 Jenkins jobs. These include deployment jobs for developers and some that we created for monitoring and metrics. For the past couple of years, my manager has focused on creating common jobs to reduce redundancy and complexity. He encourages us to consolidate similar jobs so that changes can be made in one place instead of many. I've helped set up a common pipeline for deployments, which went well, but now he wants us to streamline every single similar job we encounter. My question is, is this really beneficial for DevOps? Will it actually help us in the long run, or is he trying to fix a problem that doesn't exist? I'm curious if other people have experience with this kind of job optimization and whether it helps in the field, especially when it comes to job applications. What do you think?
5 Answers
I think your manager's focus on creating common jobs is valid for improving maintainability, but it doesn't necessarily equate to performance optimization. For jobs that run infrequently, shaving off a minute here or there isn’t really worth it. It's more about whether those processes are efficient and manageable. If you can create a centralized library or common functions to streamline multiple jobs, that could be beneficial for your DevOps practices. This can also make your skillset more attractive on resumes since it shows you're capable of handling complex CI/CD environments.
Optimizing Jenkins jobs can definitely help, but it depends on the context. If you're dealing with a large number of jobs that are very similar, consolidating them into a common framework makes it easier to maintain. It becomes particularly useful when updates or changes are needed—if everything's consolidated, you only have to tweak it in one place. But if the jobs don’t run often or are for infrequent tasks, it might not be worth the effort. It sounds like your manager is pushing towards this commonization to reduce technical debt, which is valid, but it can be over-engineered too. Just be cautious not to complicate things unnecessarily!
That makes sense! I’ve seen teams struggle because they tried to ‘commonize’ everything but ended up creating a convoluted monster.
I completely understand your struggles. I had to deal with a Jenkins environment that was just too bloated! If you end up creating overly complex jobs for the sake of 'optimization', you could confuse more than help. My advice? If it's not efficient to consolidate certain jobs, focus instead on keeping the existing ones clear and effective. That’s the real win!
Honestly, I've seen mixed results with this kind of optimization. Sometimes teams get so caught up in creating common jobs that they forget the actual purpose of running those jobs efficiently. It can create confusion and bottlenecks later if not managed well. For your resume, sure, mentioning experience with CI/CD optimizations is good, but be wary of putting too much emphasis on it if it’s not directly relevant to your skills.
To add to that, having a good mix of standardization without making everything complex is key. I’ve seen some teams go way too far and end up with a monster pipeline that no one really understands. So maybe focus on clear, understandable jobs rather than trying to force everything into one generic mold.
Yeah, I totally agree! Standardizing reduces confusion and helps avoid messy situations later, but you need to ensure that it doesn't become a hassle in itself.