# Exploring the Benefits of Combining DevOps and Agile
## 1 Introduction  
The software development process can be viewed as a set of tasks required to produce high-quality software. The literature shows that the quality of the software produced reflects the way the process was carried out [1; 2; 3]. Although several software development processes exist, generic activities common to all of them stand out, as [PERSON] [4] highlights, such as software specification (e.g., requirements definition, software constraints), software development (e.g., software design and implementation), software validation (e.g., software must be validated to ensure that the implemented functionality conforms to what was specified), and software evolution (e.g., software evolves as per customer need). The software development process provides an interaction between users and software engineers, between users and technology, and between system engineers and technology. In this sense, software development is an interactive learning process, and the result is an embodiment of knowledge gathered, transformed, and organized as the process is conducted. A software development methodology includes a set of activities that assist in the production of software. These activities result in a product that demonstrates how the development process was conducted. Agile methodologies arise from the need to overcome the difficulties and disadvantages of applying traditional methodologies in project management and implementation. The Agile methodology assumes short periods of time between each delivery to ensure early and continuous delivery of software susceptible to evaluation [5]. In [6] it is also recognized that software implementation according to this paradigm is interactive and incremental, enabling early confirmation of whether or notthe delivered artifact meets the needs and making the respective corrections with low risk and cost. The main social and human factors involved in the adoption of Agile methodologies are the impact on organizational culture, namely by the collaborative culture imposed on developers and the implications of being embedded in an Agile team [7; 8]. Constant feedback to all team participants on the activities being carried out, and the commitment to the team's goals, are highlighted in [PERSON] et al. [9] as key elements for a well-functioning Agile team. Feedback and collective awareness are essential as opposed to individualism and lack of communication. This view is also confirmed by [PERSON] and [PERSON] [10] when they highlight that feedback loops are the essence of the empirical and complex processes found in software engineering that require continuous adaptation based on learning obtained daily. Furthermore, complex projects are very unpredictable and therefore need a process that incorporates unpredictability [11]. Inspired by the success of Agile methods, the DevOps (Development and Operations) movement emerged that aims to take this line of reasoning to a higher level. This movement comes to break the traditional culture where there was almost no interaction between teams and, as highlighted by [PERSON] et al. [12], the goal is to create a culture of collaboration between development and operations teams that allows increasing the flow of completed work. In summary, it is intended to increase the frequency of deployments while increasing the stability and robustness of the production environment. Beyond a cultural change, the DevOps movement also focuses on the practices of automating the various activities required to deliver quality code into production, such as creating environments for testing, automating testing, configuring infrastructure, data migration, auditing, and security, among others [13; 14]. In the literature, we can essentially find studies on DevOps that explore ways to align development teams with operations [15], the benefits that this methodology can bring to organizations [16], and the challenges that are posed [17]. However, there is a research gap in the characterization of the simultaneous adoption of Agile and DevOps in organizations.