TITLE:
Navigating Continuous Improvement: An In-Depth Analysis of Lean-Agile and DevOps Maturity Models
AUTHORS:
Utham Kumar Anugula Sethupathy
KEYWORDS:
DevOps Maturity Model, Lean-Agile, Continuous Delivery, DevSecOps, Software Metrics, Case Study Research
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Software Engineering and Applications,
Vol.18 No.9,
August
28,
2025
ABSTRACT: Introduction: DevOps maturity models help organizations benchmark their engineering capabilities, yet the empirical grounding of most models remains fragmented in scholarly literature. Methods: We conducted a mixed-methods study consisting of (i) a systematic literature review (SLR) of 78 peer-reviewed papers from IEEE, ACM, SpringerLink, and ScienceDirect (2013-2024) and (ii) multiple embedded case studies of three large enterprises (finance, media, telecom) following Yin’s five-step protocol. Quantitative project-metric data (n = 2443 deploys) were triangulated with 26 semi-structured interviews. Results: The SLR synthesized 27 core capability dimensions across existing maturity models and identified four evidence-backed outcome clusters (deployment frequency, change failure rate, MTTR, lead-time). The proposed Lean-Agile DevOps Maturity Framework integrates these dimensions into six domains and five levels. Case studies confirm a significant correlation between maturity score and deployment frequency (ρ = 0.67, p Discussion: Our framework extends prior models by adding Security Integration and Architecture & Design as first-class domains, addressing gaps reported by earlier studies. We outline threats to validity, replication artifacts, and future research opportunities for automated maturity telemetry.