2020 Year-End Review and 2021 Goals of a DevOps Engineer

Time flies, and 2021 is approaching, prompting a reflection on the experiences and gains of the past year.

2020 was an extraordinary year, with everyone's life and work impacted by the COVID‑19 pandemic.

Nevertheless, life must go on. Social media like Weibo and Douyin occupy a day, while work and study fill another. The author feels anxious when progress stalls, and completing work brings reassurance.

Review of 2020

Work

In 2020 the author strived to do their best and feels reasonably satisfied looking back.

When writing the year‑end work summary, many accomplishments emerged beyond core build and release duties, including process improvements and efficiency gains:

Implemented unattended automated builds using Jenkins Shared Libraries and Multi‑branch Pipelines, saving considerable time for the team and improving code stability and quality through PR build verification and testing. Every Jenkins user should know these three best practices

Guided the team to migrate to an enterprise‑grade Artifactory for artifact download and storage, enhancing CI/CD efficiency and enabling unattended operations. A guide for those who want to manage artifacts with JFrog Artifactory

Used Python to integrate with Jira and BitBucket, automating tasks and boosting efficiency, and also released a Python project. Things to watch when publishing a Python project on GitHub

Established Git commit message and branch‑creation conventions, standardising the workflow. Must‑read for programmers: Git commit message and branch‑creation standards

Learned and applied new tools such as Ansible playbooks, ELK, and JaCoCo in projects.

As a DevOps/software engineer, strong communication skills are essential; without clear sharing, even excellent work loses impact, especially in a foreign company where English presentations are required.

The author aims to improve technically through consistent reading and practice, having completed several technical books during a disciplined period, though habits can be fragile when interrupted by other responsibilities.

Sharing

In 2020 the blog posted 41 articles, and the public account "DevOps Engineer" published 26 articles.

While the quantity and quality may not match larger tech accounts, the author is satisfied with the steady output as a non‑professional writer.

Early in the year, a professor from Tsinghua University invited the author to write a book, which was flattering; however, due to workload, other technical priorities, and personal commitments, the author ultimately declined.

At that time, the proposed book was "Jenkins 2 Practical Guide"; signing the contract would have required at least a year of intensive effort.

Considering the circumstances—prioritising work, other important technologies, and weekend renovations—the author chose to forgo the book opportunity.

The author acknowledges being in a phase where input outweighs output, but remains motivated to keep the inner spark alive.

Work Goals

Annual reviews help identify past achievements, shortcomings, and improvement areas, and set flags for the new year.

In 2021 the author aims to be more focused, manage time better, and work and learn more efficiently.

Beyond work, the top priorities are improving spoken English and deepening technical knowledge , followed by output.

Having a flag is insufficient; concrete actions are required.

Improve English Speaking

🚩 In 2021 continue daily half‑hour speaking practice and a weekly 50‑minute session with a foreign teacher, aiming for impromptu English presentations and passing the TOEIC exam.

Deepen Technical Learning

The author’s learning methods include reading official English documentation, using LinkedIn Learning or Udemy for unclear topics (also practicing listening), and studying classic technical books for in‑depth language and low‑level concepts.

🚩 In 2021 commit to at least half an hour of daily technical reading and finish at least one technical book per month with accompanying output.

Life Goals

Wish health and happiness for family and friends.

🚩 Achieve financial stability and growth, maintain a healthy lifestyle, and lose 10 kg.

Finally, periodically review 2021 flags to ensure staying on course. "2021, here I come!"

Past Year‑End Summaries 2019 Year‑End Summary 2018 Year‑End Summary 2017 Year‑End Summary