Organizational Conflicts in the Adoption of Continuous Software Engineering

Abstract

Software is a critical component of nearly every product or service. Improvements in software can lead to substantial competitive advantages. At the same time, software and surrounding engineering teams have become increasingly complex.

The adoption of continuous integration and delivery is a recent trend to radically improve software release speed. However, its adoption is far from straightforward. Specifically, rethinking processes, organizational culture, ways of working, and business models require buy-in from diverse stakeholders that may have conflicting objectives. Such situations are explored by organizational conflict research.

This paper reports on early lessons from an ongoing research project in continuous software engineering, specifically investigating adoption challenges from an organizational conflict perspective. We identify catalysts, symptoms, and outcomes of organizational conflicts hindering the adoption process.

We conclude that predictable conflicts emerge when adopting continuous engineering. Engineers, managers, and other teams can proactively prepare for and allocate resources to resolve them. Proper analysis and management can help avoid wasted time, impeding processes, and frustration.