The DevOps Continuum: Walking the Shadowy Bridge from Information Systems Development to Operations
It is found that variations of DevOps implementations are gradual transitions on what the authors call a DevOps continuum, and a conceptual model is proposed which fosters their understanding of the DevOps phenomenon, relates DevOps to existing theories, and identifies new paths for future research.
Abstract
In recent years, enterprises have observed that a holistic approach to agile information systems development and a close integration of information systems operations is essential to maximize the probability of success, leading to the emerging DevOps phenomenon. While first studies have delivered first preliminary insights about DevOps, a foundational understanding of DevOps implementations and theoretical grounding of DevOps is still missing. To close this gap, we conducted a multiple-case study to explore a variety of characteristics of DevOps, and how these different characteristics influence its implementation in different contexts. We find that variations of DevOps implementations are gradual transitions on what we call a DevOps continuum. Based on this insight, we propose a conceptual model which fosters our understanding of the DevOps phenomenon, relates DevOps to existing theories, and identifies new paths for future research.