Factor Prioritization for Effectively Implementing DevOps in Software Development Organizations: A SWOT-AHP Approach

Abstract

DevOps (development and operations) is a collective and multidisciplinary organizational effort used by many software development organizations to build high-quality software on schedule and within budget. Implementing DevOps is challenging to implement in software organizations. The DevOps literature is far away from providing a guideline for effectively implementing DevOps in software organizations. This study is conducted with the aim to develop a readiness model by investigating the DevOps-related factors that could positively or negatively impact DevOps activities in the software industry. The identified factors are further categorized based on the internal and external aspects of the organization, using the SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) framework. This research work is conducted in three different phases: (1) investigating the factors, (2) categorizing the factors using the SWOT framework, and finally, (3) developing an analytic hierarchy process (AHP)-based readiness model of DevOps factors for use in software organizations. The findings would provide a readiness model based on the SWOT framework. The proposed framework could provide a roadmap for organizations in the software development industry to evaluate and improve their implementation approaches to implement a DevOps process.