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Performance HackathonsTrulia’s obsession with speed and scale

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Hi

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We’re Chris & LouisWe work together.

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We’re from TruliaIt’s a nice place to work.

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Pardon the interruption

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© Naotake Murayama, CC BY 2.0https://www.flickr.com/photos/naotakem/8065291641/

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Moving right along

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Maintaining a start-up vibe as we scale2007

• 17 Engineers• 1 building

2014• Over 200 Engineers• 5 floors, 3 buildings, 2 cities

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R. WestrumSociologist, Professor… and Ufologist

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Westrum’s Three Cultures ModelPathological (power-oriented)

Pattern of ResponseLow CooperationMessengers Shot

Failure Leads to Scapegoating

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Westrum’s Three Cultures ModelBureaucratic (rule-oriented)

Pattern of ResponseModest Cooperation

Messengers NeglectedFailure Leads to Justice

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Westrum’s Three Cultures ModelGenerative (performance-oriented)

Pattern of ResponseHigh Cooperation

Messengers TrainedFailure Leads to Inquiry

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What’s worked for us• Weekly release meetings• Regular tech learning sessions• Lunch roulettes, group outings, regular and

impromptu HH

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What’s worked for us• Innovation weeks & providing a safe environment

for risk• Post-mortems are productive• Show data everywhere• Regular performance and scalability hackathons

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Wait…Isn’t this the New Relic track?

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Dev/OpsA most ingenious paradox

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© Matt Neale, CC BY 2.0https://www.flickr.com/photos/mattneale/4686273802/

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fa·cil·i·ta·tor noun \fə-ˈsi-lə-ˌtā-tər\one that helps to bring about an outcome (as learning, productivity, or communication) by providing indirect or unobtrusive assistance, guidance, or supervision

— Merriam-Webster

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Enter the hackathon

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InceptionSite performance is a top-line KPI at Trulia.

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InceptionWe have performance monitors everywhere, and all devs have access to New Relic, but…

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InceptionAs developers, we sometimes have trouble balancing tech initiatives and product work. Let’s block off a couple of hours each week to address this.

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Iterate.… and then do it again.

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Take one• This is great• We need Ops here

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Take twoInstead of a small group, let’s invite everyone!At the same time, make it clear that…• Attendance is optional, and• Participation is mandatory

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What we found

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Example 1: Legacy code

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Example 2: Server oddities

xfs on a web server.

… really?

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You can do it!How to build your own

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… but, before we get started.Let’s take a moment to acknowledge our privilege.

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Step 1: Get insight into your apps.We like New Relic.

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Step 2: Set aside some timeWe started with 2 hours a week, and that feels right.

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Step 3: Find an area of the app to work onE.g., key transactions

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Step 4: Make it better!• Research• Hack• Create some PRs• File follow-ups

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Step 5: IterateIt’s more important to be making changes than it is to have every change be a huge success.

(Success helps, though.)

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Thanks

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Q&A