EXPLORING THE BENEFITS, CHALLENGES AND GUIDELINES OF DEVOPS ADOPTION: A SYSTEMATIC LITERATURE REVIEW AND AN EMPIRICAL STUDY

This study aims to explore the benefits and challenges of DevOps adoption in the rapidly evolving landscape of DevOps and Information Technology (IT) firms. DevOps is a software development approach that emphasises communication and collaboration between software developers and IT operations teams, aiming to streamline processes and enhance software delivery. Despite the growing popularity of DevOps, there are several challenges to its adoption, including stakeholder confusion, a lack of clear processes and guidelines, and a lack of empirical studies that discuss the challenges of DevOps. To establish a foundation of understanding and provide insights into the benefits, challenges, and guidelines for DevOps adoption, this study uses a two-fold approach, including a systematic literature review and conducts semi-structured interviews involving six organisations of various sizes. The interviews aimed to obtain evidence of DevOps adoption in practice and to detail real scenarios and explain the role of each category during DevOps adoption. The study provides insights into the challenges faced by software organisations in adopting the DevOps culture and the benefits of DevOps adoption. The study also proposes DevOps adoption guidelines based on the findings. The findings contribute to the existing literature on DevOps adoption and provide valuable recommendations for software organisations.