Developer handcuffs are policies, norms, or practices that restrict developers from delivering value at their personal optimal speed. Handcuffs have an adverse effect on employee engagement, and they are a primary reason that great developers leave companies.

Many companies have a tough time grasping esoteric concepts like autonomy and self-organization, let alone understand how to reimagine the culture to make room for Agile and DevOps. Developer handcuffs, however, is a tangible concept that allows managers and leaders to visualize a cost/benefit analysis, and take action. The end result is an implementation of DevOps that comes with executive buy-in.

We're going to cover the types of handcuffs commonly found in a large company, walk through a few examples, and outline strategies for unshackling software delivery.