Explore the principles of DevOps and operational excellence in this insightful conference talk. Delve into the historical context of DevOps, tracing its roots back to Ada Lovelace and Jane Austen. Learn about the synthesis of agile development practices and rigorous operational discipline. Discover the importance of treating Operations as equal partners to Development. Gain valuable insights on automating deployments, implementing effective logging strategies, and enhancing supportability. Examine the concept of "Phone Home Packets" and understand the significance of the "Three Magic Questions" in operational contexts. Investigate the distinctions between warnings and errors, and learn how to craft meaningful log messages. Explore the principles of usability in operational settings and delve into release engineering practices. Acquire knowledge on testing strategies that contribute to robust and reliable systems.