The first single application for the entire DevOps lifecycle

Results

We do what we promised to each other, customers, users, and investors.

We measure results, not hours. We care about what you achieve; the code you shipped, the user you made happy, and the team member you helped. You don't have to defend how you spend your day. We trust team members to do the right thing instead of having rigid rules. And we know you don't always get the results you want, but we believe our talents can be developed through hard work, good strategies, and input from others.

Regarding ownership, we expect team members to complete tasks that they are assigned. Having a task means you are responsible for anticipating and solving problems. As an owner you are responsible for overcoming challenges. This means taking initiative and pro-actively informing stakeholders when there is something you might not be able to solve. 

We operate with a sense of urgency and bias for action. At an exponentially scaling startup, time gained or lost has compounding effects. So we keep our focus on action, and don't fall into the trap of analysis paralysis or sticking to a slow, quiet path without risk. Decisions should be thoughtful, but delivering fast results requires the fearless acceptance of uncertainty and occasionally making mistakes. Our bias for action also allows us to course correct quickly. And while we iterate with small changes, we strive for large, ambitious results.

Iteration

We do the smallest thing possible and get it out as quickly as possible.

We don't write large plans, only the first step, because if we take smaller steps and ship smaller, simpler features, we get feedback sooner. Instead of spending time working on the wrong feature or going in the wrong direction, we can ship the smallest product, receive fast feedback, and course correct. We trust that we'll know better how to proceed after something is released.  

When we have something of value like a potential blog post or a small fix, we implement it straight away while everything is fresh in our head and we have the motivation. We don’t wait until we have a better version; we look to make the quickest change possible to improve the user's outcome. And if we validate that the change adds more value than what is there now, we do it. No need to wait for something more robust. 

This value is the one people most underestimate when they join GitLab. The impact both on your work process and on how much you achieve is greater than anticipated. In the beginning, it hurts to make decisions fast and to see that things are changed with less consultation. But frequently the simplest version turns out to be the best one. 

Transparency

Be open about as many things as possible.

Everything at GitLab is public by default. Transparency creates awareness for GitLab, allows us to recruit people that care about our values, gets us more and faster feedback from people outside the company, and makes it easier to collaborate with them. Transparency is also about sharing great software, documentation, examples, lessons, and processes with the whole community and the world in the spirit of open source, which we believe creates more value than it captures. 

At GitLab we make transparent changes - the reasons for the change are laid out clearly along with the change itself. This leads to fewer questions later on because people already have some understanding. A change with no public explanation can lead to a lot of extra rounds of questioning, which is less efficient. Also, anyone and anything can be questioned. Any past decisions and guidelines are open to questioning as long as you act in accordance with them until they are changed. 

Transparency also means being direct with each other. We try to channel our inner Ben Horowitz by being both straightforward and kind, an uncommon cocktail of no-bullshit and no-asshole. In this sense, feedback is always about your work and not your person.

Collaboration

We help each other out.

Helping others is a priority, even when it is not immediately related to the goals that we're trying to achieve. We also know we can rely on others for help and advice — in fact, we're expected to do so. When we have a problem we speak up, ask for help, and are forthcoming with information. And we don't forget to recognize the people that have helped us publicly (for example, in our #thanks chat channel). 

We value caring for others. Demonstrating we care for people provides an effective framework for challenging directly and delivering feedback. We give as much positive feedback as we can, and we always assume positive intent in our interactions with others, respecting their expertise and giving them grace in the face of what we might perceive as mistakes.

We also make an effort to get to know each other. We use a lot of text-based communication, and if you know the person behind the text, it will be easier to prevent conflicts. So we encourage people to get to know each other on a personal level through our Take a Break calls, virtual coffee chats, and during GitLab Contribute (our in-person company meetups).

Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging

Diversity and inclusion are fundamental to the success of GitLab. 

We aim to make a significant impact in our efforts to foster an environment where people from every background and circumstance feel like they belong and can contribute. Along those lines, we choose to build and institutionalize a culture that is inclusive and supports all employees equally in the process of achieving their professional goals.

We use inclusive language and pronouns. We recognize that unconscious bias is something that affects everyone and that we are responsible for understanding our own implicit biases and helping others understand theirs. We list our Transgender Medical Services and Parental Leave publicly so people don't have to ask for them during interviews. And we celebrate neurodiversity, a type of diversity that includes autism, ADHD, dyscalculia, dyspraxia, and other styles of neurodivergent functioning, recognizing that neurodivergent individuals often bring unique skills and abilities to the table.

We also support shifting work hours for a cause. Caregiving, outreach programs, and community service do not conveniently wait for regular business hours to conclude. If there's a cause or community effort taking place, feel welcome to work with your manager and shift your working hours to be available during a period where you'll have the greatest impact for good. 

Efficiency

We care about working on the right things, not doing more than needed, and not duplicating work.

We aim to be respectful of others' time by considering the time investment we are asking them to make with meetings or a permission process. We try to avoid meetings, and if one is necessary, we try to make attendance optional for as many people as possible. 

We communicate effectively. We keep one-to-many written communication brief, and give short answers to verbal questions so the other party has the opportunity to ask more or move on. We also document everything: in the handbook, in meeting notes, in issues. We do that because it is far more efficient to read a document at your convenience than to have to ask and explain. Having something in version control also lets everyone contribute suggestions to improve it.