SusDevOps: Promoting Sustainability to a First Principle in Software Delivery

TL;DR

The paper addresses the lack of end-to-end frameworks that embed sustainability into software delivery by introducing SusDevOps, a sustainability-first extension of DevOps. It defines a holistic lifecycle where Sus activities (Align goals, Choose KPIs, Prioritize, Plan) are integrated with DevOps phases, and demonstrates the approach through a startup case, including the use of causal-loop diagrams and KPIs like $FPO$ and $CO_2$ emissions. Key contributions include formalizing a sustainability-driven lifecycle, guidance on KPI design and trade-offs, and a discussion of benefits, adoption challenges, and future work. The work offers actionable guidance for practitioners to design, measure, and deliver sustainable software within real-world constraints, with planned tool support, organizational enablement, and industry validation as future steps.

Abstract

Sustainability is becoming a key property of modern software systems. While there is a substantial and growing body of knowledge on engineering sustainable software, end-to-end frameworks that situate sustainability-related activities within the software delivery lifecycle are missing. In this article, we propose the SusDevOps framework that promotes sustainability to a first principle within a DevOps context. We demonstrate the lifecycle phases and techniques of SusDevOps through the case of a software development startup company.

Figures (2)

• Figure 1: The SusDevOps framework
• Figure 2: Evolving understanding of sustainability factors