Take the Active Learner Challenge! 📚‌

[Michal_Gebacki]

Active Learner badgeGreat to see you again! This month, we've re-launched a Start with Dynatrace subforum, a place to go when starting your learning journey with Dynatrace. In this challenge, we'd like to stay with the theme and learn about your other knowledge-expanding resources 📚

In the old days, it would have to be a giant bookshelf or a library. In the modern world, you can find everything you need on your computer!

Tell us in the comments below, how you are learning and expanding your knowledge. What are your must-read books? What blogs or YouTube channels are worth recommending? Feel free to mention some valuable webinars, workshops or conferences!

Every participant of this month's challenge gets bonus 100 points, a great "Active Learner" badge, and unique opportunity to find out some tips on learning from other like-minded professionals. Maybe you'll be inspired and fill your physical or virtual shelf with something new! 💡 

[pahofmann]

For learning I mostly prefer reading. I don't have anything specific, my go-to resource is just google. 

There are so many sites, blogs and forums where you can find useful information.

Aside from that I like podcasts to stay up to date on topics and get new ideas.

Besides PurePerformance of course 😉 I would recommend checking out jupiter broadcasting for all things linux.

[radek_jasinski]

In my case it looks like this:

• The main source of learning is google and searching for information for specific cases that I encounter in client environments.
• If I find a new technology in my clients' environment, I read about it to at least understand how it works and what its technical architecture is. (eg. for Azure I used Microsoft Learn platform)
• Of course - documentation
• I also use courses on Udemy
• Helps in learning is active participation in discussion forums. You can learn about many cases that we don't get a chance to see in our environments.

[Mike_L]

When it comes to APM/Dynatrace knowledge my main source is (sorry customers and partners!) our internal Slack, Stack Overflow and Wiki resources.

Whenever we need to create a new integration with a technology we didn’t have before I always go to Google first to try to find what others did before, or if the vendor has some documentation on the APIs or whatever it might be.

[dannemca]

I can only learn if I do two things:

1. Practice
2. Teach

Like everyone else, I read books/tutorials, watch videos, webinars, etc. Main source is google, but the Company I work have an internal learning system and partnership with platforms such Udemy.

Then, I need to practice. I do create labs/sand boxes to deploy, configure and break things. Yep, you learn a ton when things are broken. There's when stackoverflow enters. 🤣

And when I think I started to know that thing, I try to teach that to someone else.

I have hours and hours of trainings provided to my team here in the Company. Dynatrace is mostly of these trainings.In fact, that's how I learned Dynatrace, teaching my team on how to use it.

And this works for anything you need to learn. IT or not.

Today I am volunteer teacher, teaching English, Spanish and German to people of my little community here in Brazil (Livramento de Nossa Senhora, Bahia), I have around 40 students. I am almost fluent in English, and know a bit of German, but barely can understand Spanish, and still, I am teaching the little I know to others. Every week, when we have class, I need to learn the words I will teach, so that's a great way of learning.

That's me teaching and learning

[Michal_Gebacki]

A true man of renaissance, big kudos for taking care of your local community in so challenging way! Seems like when I'll visit your city one day, I can freely try to get along with locals using mixture of English-German-Spanish thing, it's promising 😎

[SachinJindal]

When it comes to learning normally i would use Dynatrace document and blogs which is one of best reference i have seen ever also sometimes checking the existing defects/bugs which have been raised and try to go through where most of the solutions would have already discussed . Given that fact Siebel/CRM is what i dont see any much use case with Dynatrace which we are trying to work on  so on daily basis its a good learning .

Thanks

Sachin

[Ana_Kuzmenchuk]

thank you for sharing, Sachin!

[AntonioSousa]

Well, I have shifted mentally in the last weeks, and today I had another seismic shift.

In January, a client of ours told me that he was monitoring some very important specific infrastructure metric. I can tell you it has been well discussed here in the Community... Their monitoring involved a quite sophisticated math formula.

When I got the formula, I could read it, but not really understand it. My first try to understanding it, was searching for it in Google. I didn't get far... I then asked for help with some of my close contacts, but the mystery remained. No one had a good idea of what that formula meant!

Several days passed, till I had another idea: how about asking ChatGPT? It went like this (I still have screenshots):

• Me: What does this formula mean: xxxxxxxxx

• ChatGPT: This formula is the formula for ...

• Me: If we call the formula before as Tx, what does the following one mead? (10 * yyyyy) / log (1 + Tx)

• ChatGPT: The formula you provided is used to calculate the number ...

ChatGPT had managed to reply to my doubts almost instantaneously! It even managed the typo in the second question... Now, I had my doubts, but quickly googling for what ChatGPT had provided me, I understood it was the correct formula.

Now, looking at the formula and it's meaning, made me wonder that this formula might not be appropriate for this situation. So I asked ChatGPT if I should use this formula for this metric/situation? And ChatGPT replied: NO! You should not use this in this situation because of this and that...

Today, I got another taste of this. I cannot reveal much more for now, but I'm shifting all my queries to ChatGPT...

[AntonioSousa]

BTW,

Don't believe everything ChatGPT tells you! I tried with one of the most recent unanswered questions here in the Community: https://community.dynatrace.com/t5/Cloud-platforms/Can-Dynatrace-collects-Aurora-Postgresql-explain-...

The reply from ChatGPT is visible below. I would say that it is not right... Which leaves of course a lot of questions...

[dannemca]

Ok, so we should not expect Chat GPT becoming a DynaMight soon..

[Michal_Gebacki]

Definitely, he didn't deserve to be on our watch list as for now 😉

[Yosi_Neuman]

For me it always start with google, when thing get too complicate, the next stop is asking my team leader @gilgi  if he got any clue on how to proceed and the last resort is asking the guys from the external-rfo-help slack channel.

Keep forgetting about ChatGPT option,  thanks to @AntonioSousa I hope I will remember to give it a try next time 🤗

Yos 

[Michal_Gebacki]

AI is developing so quickly that it's very likely the current stage of ChatGPT is working way more efficient than in the first half of March 😄

[DanielS]

For learning I love to use two sites:

• O'Reilly
• Pluralsight

Also I love to dive through Github projects, I follow lots of Podcast (mainly in spanish), and lots of YouTube videos:

• https://www.youtube.com/@nerdearla
• https://www.youtube.com/@dynatrace
• https://www.youtube.com/@amazonwebservices

[Michal_Gebacki]

Great to see some direct examples of YouTube channels you value, surely some people will bookmark them! 🔖

[gilgi]

There are several resources I use. The most frequent ones are of course the Dynatrace blog and the Performance clinics. did you know Dynatrace has its own youtube channel (https://www.youtube.com/@dynatrace) so that even you've missed a webinar it is uploaded there as well as to the university?

In addition I'm also using on my mobile an app called feedly that @kelvin_klein has introduced to me to follow up on the blogs publications. 3-4 blogs a week is something that is hard to follow.

Regardless of that, obviously Dr. google and the documentation is used, but I also go to github.com and am searching for code samples there amongst all of the Dynatrace related subjects.

I admit that I am reading less now (at least professional books) so online is my most valuable resource.

[Michal_Gebacki]

That's the perfect example that reading less physical books doesn't mean we're absorbing less knowledge, usually quite opposite 😄

[ChadTurner]

For me, I'm more of a visual/hands-on learner. There is a plethora of resources to expand your Dynatrace Knowledge from the Pure Performance sessions to the Dynatrace Community. Also I would say that the HoT sessions at Perform are invaluable and I would recommend them 100% time and time again. 

Google is a great resource as well but, googler beware as you might not always find the answer to your question. When I get presented with a complex question that needs a solution, I like to take time to think about it. You don't always need to have an answer right away. For example tagging entities with their onboarded date for entities automatically onboarded into Dynatrace.  Once I've come up with a potential solution I then apply it as a small Proof of Concept within a test environment to see if its viable. If so, it gets expanded and promoted to the other core environments, then I follow up with educational information around it. You'll notice my materials include Screen shots with steps along with a textual journey. That way I cover the users who are visual and reading learners, but also for users who are hands on learners, they can follow along with the steps and images provided. 

[Michal_Gebacki]

Your usage of screenshots is something we in the Community Team (and surely other users) value very much! It's usually underestimated how many people's attention works better when some graphical supplements are added 😎

[jegron]

As partner my primary source of knowledge is our customers. IT is moving so fast and it is impossible to know everything. But as Performance engineer I have to analyze as Doctor House and work with experts 👨‍⚕️

So I switch between different technical contexts every day and share what I have learned with my team and other customers. Virtuous circle!

Obviously I am using Google, LinkedIn, Twitter, Medium, APMDigest (https://www.apmdigest.com/), Gartner Report.

I also assisted at https://perfnow.nl/ in 2018. Great conference about Web Perf.

This year I was at Perform  for the first time and it was incredibly inspiring.

[Michal_Gebacki]

Thankfully conferences are now coming back to the previous frequency, people were craving them after online events substitutes from pandemic times 🤔 Hard to replace such a powerful source of knowledge!

[Mo_Azuz]

For Dynatrace and APM knowledge like Mike mentioned, our internal Slack, Stack Overflow and the Community of course!!! Not to forget the Dynatrace Performance Clinic and Webinars.  Other resources like Udemy, The Linux Foundation, Microsoft Learn...etc, it depends on the technology stack I am interested in.

[Michal_Gebacki]

Happy to see Community is included in your knowledge pack - that's the spirit!

[Malaik]

Hi All members,

If talking about Dynatrace knowledge: I have 3 data sources: Community, Online Documentation, and Dynatrace Youtube Channel.

If talking about knowledge in global: first starting page is google after some forum: gitHub, ... and also some Youtube Channels.

[Michal_Gebacki]

Very diverse portfolio, YouTube channels are nowadays essential knowledge source for literally every aspect of living 😄

[kuncarlos]

Hi,

As a  CSM, my part of the job is to show the learning material to our customers. I would say that related with Dynatrace it is mostly our documentation page, our chat team, and of course our Community page I refer to.

Then there are also some nice Dynatrace podcasts and Youtube webseries.

For my own learning purposes, I watch Techworld with Nana, listen to The Darknet Diaries and study on Kodecloud

[Michal_Gebacki]

That's excellent, sounds like a solid pack of resources!

[jarinmusarrat]

For me as a product specialist, I have found the Dynatrace documentation very helpful. I usually google any problem or question related to Dynatrace and find them on document but if it is very specific to a special technology I find many similar cases on the community page, the open Q&A, and all these community forum has been as well a great learning source for me. Even when I get questions that I can't find answers to, I simply ask here. The other resources I have used are Slack, and going over other customers tickets and chats as they often get similar issues. 
For other knowledge, unrelated to Dynatrace I prefer youtube as I benefit much from visual learning and obviously google.

[PedroDeodato]

Well, when it comes to other stuff, I usual Google it as everyone else 🙂

But when it comes to Dynatrace, the procedure usual looks like this:

1. Explore the UI a bit (the little descriptions on the settings pages, or something like that)
2. Check the documentation
3. If it's not there, google "site:dynatrace.com <stuff to know>" : usually that serves to redirect me to the correct documentation page (if I hadn't check it out before) or give out a few results here in the Community
4. Check the Community for related questions and, eventually, Product Ideias
5. If I still can't find it/understand it, ask the in-product Chat
6. If things get a bit too technical or specific, that might be redirected to a Support Ticket

By the end of all these interactions, one of two things happen: either I find out what I was looking for, or we (me and/or Dynatracers on the Chat/Support) realize that something is missing or not sufficiently clear on the documentation (or other area), which then leads to the suggestion on how to improve that, so that people with the same doudbt have it easier in the future 😄

Oh, and of course, usually somewhere around steps 4 and 5, I bug @AntonioSousa 👀 😅

[Ana_Kuzmenchuk]

Oh wow, love to get a little peek into your learning routine! 👀 

[Kenny_Gillette]

Here are my Tips:

https://community.dynatrace.com/t5/Dynatrace-tips/Pro-Tips-My-summary-of-great-tips/m-p/203346

Many great things to watch/listen to get better at Dynatrace.  Watch some more than once to really help you understand what is being discussed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kn-FaxYL00g&list=PLqt2rd0eew1amKg3PGlEiUDeoEd6a_s9g

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFkJ-IHAwBQ&list=PLqt2rd0eew1YSULHGceQ-zsIU6Dww1nMw

https://www.youtube.com/@dynatrace/playlists

Hope this helps

[Michal_Gebacki]

That sounds like a solid pack of knowledge, thanks for sharing it, Kenny!

[rgarzon1]

when i am trying to learn something new i prefer to look for a course while i am doing the lab of the same, while i am watching the course i am trying to do the lab at the same time.  i dont know why this works for me.  generally i fail many times before get a solid knowledge. 

in the last months i am using chatgpt 3.5 / 4 to validate or ask for a framework of something. like for example:

Promt : acting like a project manager , explain what are the importan points in a gap analisis and next with those points try to make a gap analisis oriented to a apm tool like dynatrace using his mayor caracteristics

Response: 

Spoiler

As a project manager, conducting a gap analysis is crucial for identifying the difference between the current state and desired future state of a project, process, or system. When looking at an APM (Application Performance Management) tool like Dynatrace, we want to determine how the tool can help achieve our goals and identify areas where it may fall short.

Important points to consider in a gap analysis:

1. Define objectives: Clearly outline the objectives you aim to achieve with the implementation of an APM tool like Dynatrace.
2. Assess the current state: Evaluate the present state of your application performance management to understand the baseline.
3. Identify the desired state: Determine the ideal state you want to achieve in terms of application performance, monitoring, and management.
4. Analyze gaps: Identify the gaps between the current and desired state by comparing the existing APM practices with the capabilities of Dynatrace.
5. Prioritize gaps: Assign priorities to the identified gaps based on their impact and importance to your project.
6. Develop an action plan: Create a roadmap for addressing these gaps, including the implementation of Dynatrace and any necessary training, resource allocation, and process changes.

Gap Analysis for Dynatrace:

Objective: Improve application performance and monitoring using Dynatrace as an APM tool.

1. Current state:

   • Limited visibility into application performance
   • Manual monitoring and error identification
   • Slow response to performance issues
   • Lack of real-time data and analytics

2. Desired state:

   • Comprehensive visibility into application performance
   • Automated monitoring and error detection
   • Rapid response to performance issues
   • Real-time data and analytics for informed decision-making

3. Gap analysis: a. Visibility: Dynatrace provides end-to-end visibility, enabling faster issue identification and resolution. The current state lacks this level of insight. b. Automation: Dynatrace's AI-driven capabilities automate error detection, reducing manual efforts. The current state relies heavily on manual monitoring. c. Response time: Dynatrace's proactive monitoring helps in quickly identifying and resolving issues, while the current state has slower response times. d. Real-time data: Dynatrace provides real-time data, enabling better decision-making. The current state lacks access to such data.

4. Prioritization: a. Visibility (High) b. Automation (Medium) c. Response time (High) d. Real-time data (Medium)

5. Action plan: a. Implement Dynatrace to enhance visibility and improve response times. b. Train team members on using Dynatrace's features and capabilities. c. Allocate resources for the integration of Dynatrace with existing systems. d. Monitor and measure the impact of Dynatrace on application performance and make necessary adjustments.

By conducting a thorough gap analysis and implementing Dynatrace as an APM tool, you can significantly improve your application performance management and achieve your project objectives.

and with tha info i made a report in word, next excel and create a framework to work with some clients.  its a very usefull way for me.

Regards Ruben

[Michal_Gebacki]

Fantastic story, thank you for sharing it with us, Ruben!

[kurt_aigner]

Not sure if this is a trick question by Michal, but I take it seriously 😉

1. Of course https://community.dynatrace.com/ 🎉
2. For Dynatrace stuff it's also the https://search.dynatrace.com/, which provides the best answers when you're logged in. 
3. https://www.blinkist.com/ to get blinks (aka summaries) for 5,000+ non-fiction books.

[Ana_Kuzmenchuk]

Another blinkist enthusiast here! Thanks for sharing with us, Kurt 😊