The road to Sustainable DevOps
Darwish Ahmad Herati, Maria Clara Aderne, Fabio Kon
TL;DR
The paper addresses the gap in software engineering and DevOps where sustainability is predominantly framed around economic and technical aspects. It proposes Sustainable DevOps (SusDevOps) as an integrative framework that embeds environmental, social, and individual considerations into the DevOps lifecycle, supported by a five-dimension sustainability model. The authors outline a research agenda including systematic literature reviews, surveys, and interviews to develop metrics, conceptual frameworks, and automated tooling for sustainable practice. The work aims to operationalize sustainability in software delivery, reducing ecological impact while promoting inclusion and well-being, thereby guiding the industry toward a more sustainable software engineering ecosystem.
Abstract
This manuscript focuses on the environmental, social, and individual sustainability dimensions within the modern software development lifecycle, aiming to establish a holistic approach termed Sustainable DevOps (SusDevOps). Moving beyond the already well-researched economic and technical aspects, our approach to SusDevOps emphasizes the importance of minimizing environmental impacts, fostering social inclusion, and supporting individual well-being in software engineering practices. We highlight some key challenges in incorporating these dimensions, such as reducing ecological footprints, promoting workforce inclusion, and addressing the individual well-being of developers. We plan to adopt a structured approach incorporating systematic literature reviews, surveys, and interviews to deepen our understanding, identify gaps, and evolve actionable, sustainable practices within the DevOps community. Collectively, these initiatives can contribute to a more sustainable software engineering ecosystem.