Critical success factors for DevOps adoption in information systems development

Abstract

Adopting DevOps is challenging since it makes a significant paradigm shift in the Information Systems Development process. DevOps is a trending approach attached to the Agile Software Development Methodology, which facilitates adaptation to the customers' rapidly-changing requirements. It keeps one front step by introducing software operators who support the transmission between software and implementation into the software development team by confirming faster development, quality assurance, and easy maintenance of Information Systems (IS). However, software development companies reported challenges in adopting DevOps. It is critical to control those challenges while getting hold of the benefits by studying Critical Success Factors (CSF) for adopting DevOps. This study aimed to analyze the use of DevOps approach in IS developments by exploring CSFs of DevOps. A systematic literature review was applied to identify CSFs. These factors were confirmed by interviewing DevOps practitioners while identifying more frequent CSFs in the software development industry. Finally, the research presents a conceptual model for CSFs of DevOps, which is a guide to reap the DevOps benefits while reducing the hurdles for enhancing the success of IS. The conceptual model presents CSFs of DevOps by grouping them into four areas: collaborative culture, DevOps practices, proficient DevOps team, and metrics & measurement.