Teaching Agile Development with DevOps in a Software Engineering and Database Technologies Practicum

[EN] DevOps is a new concept for Software Engineering. Teaching DevOps can be challenging with the limited resources that are available at many universities. This paper exams how to teach of an Agile Development Methodology using a DevOps approach for the Regis University (RU) M.S. in Software Engineering and Database Technologies Practicum. With faculty support, heavy stakeholder involvement and RU Information Technology Services (Operations Support) mentoring, students were able to successfully follow the Agile Development methodology to create an application that was incoporated into the RU Web-site infrastructure.Mason, R.; Masters, W.; Stark, A. (2017). Teaching Agile Development with DevOps in a Software Engineering and Database Technologies Practicum. En Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Higher Education Advances. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 1353-1362. https://doi.org/10.4995/HEAD17.2017.5607OCS1353136

Reinforcement Learning-supported AB Testing of Business Process Improvements: An Industry Perspective

In order to better facilitate the need for continuous business process improvement, the application of DevOps principles has been proposed. In particular, the AB-BPM methodology applies AB testing and reinforcement learning to increase the speed and quality of improvement efforts. In this paper, we provide an industry perspective on this approach, assessing requirements, risks, opportunities, and more aspects of the AB-BPM methodology and supporting tools. Our qualitative analysis combines grounded theory with a Delphi study, including semi-structured interviews and multiple follow-up surveys with a panel of ten business process management experts. The main findings indicate a need for human control during reinforcement learning-driven experiments, the importance of aligning the methodology culturally and organizationally with the respective setting, and the necessity of an integrated process execution platform

A Competency-based Approach toward Curricular Guidelines for Information Technology Education

The Association for Computing Machinery and the IEEE Computer Society have launched a new report titled, Curriculum Guidelines for Baccalaureate Degree Programs in Information Technology (IT2017). This paper discusses significant aspects of the IT2017 report and focuses on competency-driven learning rather than delivery of knowledge in information technology (IT) programs. It also highlights an IT curricular framework that meets the growing demands of a changing technological world in the next decade. Specifically, the paper outlines ways by which baccalaureate IT programs might implement the IT curricular framework and prepare students with knowledge, skills, and dispositions to equip graduates with competencies that matter in the workplace. The paper suggests that a focus on competencies allows academic departments to forge collaborations with employers and engage students in professional practice experiences. It also shows how professionals and educators might use the report in reviewing, updating, and creating baccalaureate IT degree programs worldwide

Examination of Adoption Theory on the DevOps Practice of Continuous Delivery

Many organizations have difficulty adopting advanced software development practices. Some software development project managers in large organizations are not aligned with the relationship between performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, and facilitating conditions, as moderated by experience, with intent to adopt the DevOps practice of continuous delivery. The purpose of this study was to examine the statistical relationships between the independent variablesâperformance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, and facilitating conditions, as moderated by experienceâand the dependent variable of behavioral intent to adopt a continuous delivery system. Venkatesh, Morris, Davis, and Davis\u27s unified theory of acceptance and use of technology provided the theoretical framework. A stepwise multiple linear regression analysis was performed on survey data from 85 technical project managers affiliated with LinkedIn project management groups. The analysis reflected that only performance expectancy was significant in predicting intent to adopt continuous delivery. The findings may contribute to social change by providing project managers with the information they need to support organizational change, collaboration, and facilitation. The knowledge gained may additionally help organizations develop operational efficiency, competitive advantage, and generate higher value to their clients and society

Guía de Enseñanza para Inicios en DEVOPS y Despliegue Continuo en AWS enfocado en las competencias de la sociedad 5.0

The speed of technologies evolve makes society need to increase the adaptability of its production processes, increasing its agility and effectiveness. Japan, as a pioneer of this proposal, launches society 5.0, focused on the use of technologies to solve social and economic problems. One of the largest sectors with influence on the economy and that stands out for its constant changes, is the software development industry. This article presents a didactic guide that allows the adoption of good development practices, strengthening soft and technical skills through a process of continuous evaluation in students of systems engineering programs. The guide consists of the definition of an architectural model for the construction of a REST API, the definition of a preventive quality model based on DEVOPS, the configuration of the model and the evaluation of the application of the model in a course. The implementation of this guide improves the competitiveness of students in relation to their professional profile, providing the industry with better trained people with the potential to improve current software development processes

Relationship of Transformational Leadership and Organizational Change During Enterprise Agile and DevOps Initiatives In Financial Service Firms

The rate of organizations adopting Agile and DevOps methodologies has grown in recent years, with researchers observing the impact of leadership styles and methodology adoption, presenting challenges with sustaining and scaling change initiatives. Where organizations within the marketplace today reveal the significance of leadership in influencing change, while findings signal deficiencies with having leaders who are ready. The purpose of this quantitative correlational research examines the increased probability of failure organizations face when engaging in enterprise Agile and DevOps transformational change initiatives. Through investigating the relationship between transformational leadership behaviors, readiness for change, and organizational citizenship behavior exhibited by management and employees engaging in Agile and DevOps initiatives within regional financial services companies with a presence in the South Eastern United States. The resulting study surveyed 390 anonymous participants with varying backgrounds and organizational roles based upon predetermined quota constraints aligning with the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Census, and FDIC data. Utilizing three principal instruments to measure transformational leadership, change readiness, and organizational citizenship behavior; conducting statistical analysis for construct reliability, descriptive properties, and hypothesis testing, concluding the existence of influential correlation of change readiness and organizational citizenship behaviors having a relationship with transformational leadership. The research findings identify the association of organizational readiness and employee social citizenship responsibility with applicability to transformational leadership, bringing light to the significance of grooming and sustaining leaders at all levels of the organization

Factors that Influence the Synergy between Development and IT Operations in a DevOps Environment

Software development processes have been associated with severe conflicts between the development and operations teams. The problems further worsened by the occasional performance of activities such as planning, testing, integration, and releases. Many developing software development concepts reveal attempts to address these challenges. For instance, continuous integration is a practice that has emerged to reduce disconnects between development and IT operational deployments. In a comparable thread, the current emphasis on DevOps acknowledges that the integration between software development and its operational deployment needs to be a continuous whole. Problems involving the integration of software development and operations require positive synergy within DevOps teams. Team synergy brings about team effectiveness and performance as well as creating opportunities for innovation. The purpose of this study is to identify the factors that influence team synergy between the development and operations teams in a DevOps environment. The researcher conducted a case study at one of South Africa's leading information and communication technology services providers. Thirteen participants were interviewed to provide insight into the research questions. Interviews were conducted at the premises of the participating organization in Cape Town. The participants in the study preferred pseudonyms instead of their actual names to preserve anonymity. Interviews were transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis. During the analysis of the transcribed data, themes and categories were identified. The themes and categories that emerged from the data sources were aligned to the theoretical framework. The findings from this study describe enabling and inhibiting factors that influence the synergy between development and operations teams in a DevOps environment. Recognizing that DevOps teams face several challenges, the factors identified in this study provide insights into how organizations can influence the build and motivate their DevOps teams to achieve team synergy. The contribution to DevOps research is the application of a theoretical framework that suggests the importance of team social capital dimensions in the formation of team synergy. Based on its findings, this study recommends that further investigation and improvement on strategies to mitigate the factors that inhibit the dimensions of team social capital and prevent team synergy in a DevOps environment. The study also recommends a more detailed and practical demonstration to validate the value of the theoretical framework and continue to improve or extend it. This study revealed that DevOps teams operate in a complex and dynamic environment with many stakeholders and complex technical infrastructure. Based on this outcome, the study also suggests that future studies can take a different approach to create a different perspective on the synergy between DevOps teams by focusing on the behavior of the actors and complex problematic situations involving social activities