Implementing DevOps Practices in Highly Regulated Environments
• SEI Report
Publisher
Software Engineering Institute
Topic or Tag
Abstract
In this paper, we discuss implementing DevOps practices in highly regulated environments (HREs). DevOps has become a standard option for entities seeking to streamline and increase participation by all stakeholders in their Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC). For a large portion of industry, academia, and government, applying DevOps is a straight forward process. There is, however, a subset of entities in these three sectors where applying DevOps can be very challenging. These are entities mandated by policies to conduct all or a portion of their SDLC activities in HREs. Often, the reason for an HRE is general security and protection of intellectual property. Even if an entity is functioning in a highly regulated environment, its SDLC can still benefit from implementing DevOps as long as the implementation conforms to all imposed policies.
This paper was given at the 2018 International Workshop on Secure Software Engineering in DevOps and Agile Development (SecSE 2018).
Cite This SEI Report
Morales, J., Yasar, H., & Volkmann, A. (2018, April 2). Implementing DevOps Practices in Highly Regulated Environments. Retrieved August 18, 2026, from https://www.sei.cmu.edu/library/implementing-devops-practices-in-highly-regulated-environments/.
@techreport{morales_2018,
author={Morales, José and Yasar, Hasan and Volkmann, Aaron},
title={Implementing DevOps Practices in Highly Regulated Environments},
month={Apr},
year={2018},
institution={Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University},
url={https://www.sei.cmu.edu/library/implementing-devops-practices-in-highly-regulated-environments/},
note={Accessed: 2026-Aug-18}
}
Morales, José, Hasan Yasar, and Aaron Volkmann. "Implementing DevOps Practices in Highly Regulated Environments." Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University. Software Engineering Institute, April 2, 2018. https://www.sei.cmu.edu/library/implementing-devops-practices-in-highly-regulated-environments/.
J. Morales, H. Yasar, and A. Volkmann, "Implementing DevOps Practices in Highly Regulated Environments," Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University. Software Engineering Institute, 2-Apr-2018 [Online]. Available: https://www.sei.cmu.edu/library/implementing-devops-practices-in-highly-regulated-environments/. [Accessed: 18-Aug-2026].
Morales, José, Hasan Yasar, and Aaron Volkmann. "Implementing DevOps Practices in Highly Regulated Environments." Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Software Engineering Institute, 2 Apr. 2018. https://www.sei.cmu.edu/library/implementing-devops-practices-in-highly-regulated-environments/. Accessed 18 Aug. 2026.
Morales, José; Yasar, Hasan; & Volkmann, Aaron. Implementing DevOps Practices in Highly Regulated Environments. Software Engineering Institute. 2018. https://www.sei.cmu.edu/library/implementing-devops-practices-in-highly-regulated-environments/