Ricardo Amaro

dblp:265/9583 · DBLP profile ↗
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5ranked-venue papers
4as first author
5since 2021 · last 2026
0000-0003-2649-8102ORCID · corroborated

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Software engineering, systems software and programming languages · 4 · 3 first-author · 4 since 2021Databases, data management, data science and information retrieval · 1 · 1 first-author · 1 since 2021
YearPublicationVenuePosition
2026 Strategic initiatives in DevOps adoption: a case study on the interplay of capabilities, metrics, and processes
abstract
Abstract In the context of Information Technology (IT), organizations integrate DevOps to facilitate rapid software delivery; however, mapping the dynamic interrelationship of capabilities, metrics, and processes in practice remains a persistent academic challenge. The current research investigates the relational mechanisms driving successful DevOps adoption. The researchers designed an elaborate single-case study to examine how high-level strategic initiatives influence the complex interplay among technical capabilities, performance metrics, and lifecycle processes. The empirical design applies a qualitative approach grounded in hybrid (abductive) thematic analysis. Established deductive frameworks provided essential baseline constructs, while inductive coding captured emergent organizational phenomena, mitigating the risk of circular reasoning (i.e., confirming a priori assumptions). The researchers employed methodological triangulation by synthesizing 28 semi-structured interviews with longitudinal internal archival documents (DORA metrics), subsequently validating the emergent constructs through an expert focus group to establish a continuous chain of evidence. The synthesized empirical analysis reveals that three specific strategic initiatives functioned as associative enablers during the organizational transformation: (1) a mandated, standardized Continuous Integration/Continuous Delivery (CI/CD) pipeline, (2) a centralized internal service catalog, and (3) a unified cloud-native platform. Archival metrics and interview transcripts mutually indicate these initiatives mitigated the core sociotechnical tension existing between velocity (driven by technical automation) and visibility (demanded by social governance). Grounded explicitly in Sociotechnical Systems (STS) Theory, a revised conceptual framework illuminates how technical tooling and organizational culture do not function in isolation; rather, they operate within a joint-optimization feedback loop. This theoretical model suggests a systemic mechanism for enterprise managers to balance competing sociotechnical priorities during large-scale DevOps transformations.
Ricardo Amaro, Ruben Filipe de Sousa Pereira, Miguel Mira da Silva
Softw. Qual. J.1
2025 Mapping DevOps capabilities to the software life cycle: A systematic literature review
abstract
Context: Many IT organizations are looking towards DevOps to make their software development and delivery processes faster and more reliable, while DevOps revolutionized the industry by emphasizing collaboration between development and operations teams. Nonetheless, there still exist challenges in harmonizing cultural, technical, measurement and process capabilities for its successful adoption. Objective: To research improving DevOps adoption, this study explores DevOps Capabilities relevant to the Life Cycle Processes (LCPs) of the IEEE 2675-2021 DevOps standard. Aiming to provide valuable information on increasing efficiency and outcomes by mapping DevOps Capabilities in each phase of the LCPs. Whereas previous research identified and classified 37 DevOps Capabilities, this study aims to determine which capabilities can enhance each of the 30 phases of the LCPs. Methods: Out of 102 documents identified in the Systematic Literature Review (SLR), relations among DevOps Capabilities and LCPs have been synthesized and organized. An in-depth analysis of data was conducted over the connections across various categories. The mapping revealed how they relate in terms of their application and impact. Results: The SLR shows technical DevOps Capabilities and technical LCPs strongly correlated. DevOps measurement capabilities have a significant impact on agreement processes. Using an impact scale classification, the study identifies eight capabilities that have exceptional impact on LCPs and eleven capabilities that have a very high impact on the supply process, requirements definition, integration process, and validation process. Conclusion: The study demonstrates how DevOps Capabilities together with LCPs can improve software delivery, quality, and reliability. It presents a structured approach for improving processes, as well as evidence of DevOps integration in software development and maintenance. The findings help to assess DevOps Capabilities and LCP relations, which is expected to improve successful adoption. Future research should focus on researching practical cases of DevOps integration into LCPs, while overcoming adoption challenges.
Ricardo Amaro, Ruben Filipe de Sousa Pereira, Miguel Mira da Silva
Inf. Softw. Technol.1
2023 Capabilities and metrics in DevOps: A design science study
Ricardo Amaro, Ruben Filipe de Sousa Pereira, Miguel Mira da Silva
Inf. Manag.1
2023 Capabilities and Practices in DevOps: A Multivocal Literature Review
abstract
Context.To meet the demands of customers and market, Information Technology (IT) organizations are seeking to implement DevOps. While many succeed in DevOps adoption, others lack the knowledge on how to incorporate DevOps culture, process, measurements, and techniques in their business. Thus, successful adoption is still inconsistent, highlighting the need to provide management with relevant information to support the development of DevOps Capabilities effectively. But what are these Capabilities? Unfortunately, there is still a lack of clarity about DevOps Capabilities and their relationships to DevOps Practices and Outcomes among researchers and practitioners.Objective.This research aims to gather community consensus on the relationship between Capabilities and Practices, so a better DevOps implementation can be mapped. Seeking to define DevOps Capabilities and Practices concepts and to identify, organize and summarize Capabilities as they relate to Practices.Method.A Multivocal Literature Review (MLR) is conducted, with 93 documents gathered and thoroughly examined from throughout the community, including books, scientific articles, white papers, and conferences, among others.Results.This survey contributes a list of 37 organized Capabilities, their mentions in literature, and their definitions. The concepts of Practices and Capabilities were mapped and categorized in an ordered taxonomy. It is concluded that industry research has much outweighed scientific research on this topic, with Capabilities evolving dynamically over time, reinforcingteam collaboration and communicationas the most crucial one. The study's Outcomes will assist researchers and practitioners understand how Capabilities and Practices are related at different levels and how to better implement them.
Ricardo Amaro, Ruben Filipe de Sousa Pereira, Miguel Mira da Silva
IEEE Trans. Software Eng.1
2022 DevOps benefits: A systematic literature review
abstract
Abstract Among current IT work cultures, DevOps stands out as one of the most adopted worldwide. The focus of this culture is on bridging the gap between development and operations teams, enabling collaborative effort toward quickly producing software, without sacrificing its quality and support. DevOps is used to tackle a variety of issues; as such, there are differing benefits reported by authors when performing their analysis. For this research, we aim to reach consensus on the DevOps benefits reported in existing literature. To accomplish this objective, two systematic literature reviews. The first intends to find all benefits reported in the literature, while the second review will be used to map the benefits found in the first one with DevOps implementation case studies, providing empirical evidences of each benefit. To strengthen the results, the concept‐centric approach is used. During this research it was possible to observe that the most reported benefits are aligned with the DevOps premises of better collaboration between developers and operators, delivering software and products quicker. Based on DevOps implementation case studies, most reported benefits include a faster time to market as well as improvements in synergy and automation. Less reported benefits include a reduction in failed changes and security issues.
João Pedro Faustino, Daniel Adriano, Ricardo Amaro, Ruben Filipe de Sousa Pereira, Miguel Mira da Silva
Softw. Pract. Exp.3