Critical Success Factors of Continuous Practices in a DevOps Context

Context: Software companies try to achieve adaptive near to real-time software delivery and apply continuous practices in a DevOps context. While continuous practices may create new business opportunities, continuous practices also present new challenges. Objective: This study aims to aid in adopting continuous practices and performance improvements by increasing our understanding of these practices in a DevOps context. Method: By conducting a systematic literature review we identified critical success factors on continuous practices and grouped the found factors. This led to the construction of our initial framework. We started to validate the critical success factors in this framework in a DevOps context by conducting a first pilot interview. Results: We developed an initial framework of critical success factors and conducted a pilot interview to make a first step to validate the framework. Some factors were confirmed and clarified i.e., enriched, on the basis of the retrieved information. In future work we will strive at further validation of the framework. Conclusions: We took a first step to validate our framework and retrieved valuable information, which is promising to take the next steps for further development of the framework

Customer knowledge transfer challenges in a co-creation value network:Toward a reference model

In today’s interconnected global marketplace, where customers have become increasingly knowledgeable and empowered, a customer-centric view is becoming a prominent differentiating strategy for firms. Accordingly, firms with the aim of delivering a seamless customer experience strive to offer integrated solutions. This quite often relies on inter-organizational collaboration in the context of a value network In this context, customer-related knowledge is regarded as one of the primary sources in the provisioning process of integrated solutions. This, in turn, implies the importance of effective sharing of customer knowledge among actors of a value network. Customer knowledge transfer is difficult due to some recognizable challenges such as a lack of trust. Because of the added complexity of a value network, achieving a shared understanding among actors about customer knowledge transfer challenges in a value network setting (VN-CKTC) might be more difficult. A systematic and comprehensive overview of the VN-CKTC (in the form of a reference model) might support this by providing additional structure. Although scholars have long studied knowledge transfer challenges within business network settings, they are usually limited in scope and their resulting challenges differ widely. Therefore, they provide insufficient coverage of the possible challenges. A more comprehensive view is thus needed. Our research aims at designing and validating a reference model that provides a systematic and wider spectrum of possible VN-CKTC. To this end, a design science research approach is followed. In the design phase, by conducting a systematic literature review followed by a structured classification, a reference model of VN-CKTC is designed. In the evaluation phase, the validation of this designed artifact is evaluated in a value network setting by conducting multiple case studies. The results of this study give us both theoretically and context-specific descriptions of the significant relevant of these challenges. The proposed reference model provides a rich picture of VN-CKTC. Decision makers of value networks can use this reference model as a means to achieve a shared understanding about customer knowledge transfer challenges and to come to an agreement on these challenges. They can also apply it to be aware of which challenges to focus on, so they are provided with a much stronger basis to make better-informed decisions to address and mitigate these challenges

Six new dactylogyrid species (Platyhelminthes, Monogenea) from the gills of cichlids (Teleostei, Cichliformes) from the Lower Congo Basin

The Lower Congo Basin is characterized by a mangrove-lined estuary at its mouth and, further upstream, by many hydrogeographical barriers such as rapids and narrow gorges. Five localities in the mangroves and four from (upstream) left bank tributaries or pools were sampled. On the gills of Coptodon tholloni, Coptodon rendalli, Hemichromis elongatus, Hemichromis stellifer and Tylochromis praecox, 17 species of parasites (Dactylogyridae & Gyrodactylidae, Monogenea) were found, eight of which are new to science. Six of these are herein described: Cichlidogyrus bixlerzavalai n. sp. and Cichlidogyrus omari n. sp. from T praecox, Cichlidogyrus calycinus n. sp. and Cichlidogyrus polyenso n. sp. from H. elongatus, Cichlidogyrus kmentovae n. sp. from H. stellifer and Onchob-della ximenae n. sp. from both species of Hemichromis. On Cichlidogyrus reversati a ridge on the accessory piece was discovered that connects to the basal bulb of the penis. We report a putative spillback effect of the native parasites Cichlidogyrus berradae, Cichlidogyrus cubitus and Cichlidogyrus flexicolpos from C. tholloni to the introduced C. rendalli. From our results, we note that the parasite fauna of Lower Congo has a higher affinity with the fauna of West African and nearby freshwater ecoregions than it has with fauna of other regions of the Congo Basin and Central Africa.Peer reviewe