Don’t fear change, embrace it
One common problem I have noticed across the Java EE support teams is a fear factor around production platform changes such as project deployment, infrastructure or network level changes etc. Below are a few reasons of this common fear:
  • For many support team members, application “change” is synonym of production “instability”
  • Lack of understanding of the project itself or scope of changes will automatically translate as fear
  • Low comfort level of executing the requested application or middleware changes
Such fear factor is often a symptom of gaps in the current release management process between the 3 main actors or production platform problems such as:
  • Lack of proper knowledge transfer between the IT delivery and support teams
  • Already unstable production environment prior to new project deployment
  • Lack of deep technical knowledge of Java EE or middleware
Fear can be a serious obstacle for your future growth and must be deal with seriously. My recommendation to you is that regardless of the existing gaps within your organization, simply embrace the changes but combine with proper due diligence such as asking for more KT, participating in project deployment strategy and risk assessments, performing code walkthroughs etc. This will allow you to eliminate that “fear” attitude, gain experience and credibility with your IT delivery team and client. This will also give you opportunities to build recommendations for future project deployments and infrastructure related improvements.

Finally, if you feel that you are lacking technical knowledge to implement the changes, simply say it and ask for another more experienced team member to shadow your work. This approach will reduce your fear level and allow you to gain experience with minimal risk level.