“Still in the Loop”: Coping with Technostress in DevOps Teams and the Impact of GenAI
The increasing adoption of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools and evolving technologies in DevOps environments introduces novel stressors, known as technostress. In this qualitative study, we conducted 26 semi-structured interviews with DevOps team members to explore how technostress is experienced and managed in practice. Using inductive and deductive thematic analysis, we identified coping strategies that operate across multiple levels. Participants reported both emotion-focused and problem-focused coping strategies, including skill development, knowledge sharing, and tool standardization. While GenAI tools are valued for enhancing productivity and efficiency, they also introduce new stressors, such as hallucinations and unreliable output. Our findings highlight a dual role of GenAI, as both novel stressor and a potential mitigator. This duality underscores the ongoing responsibility of DevOps members to “still be in the loop” when integrating GenAI tools. Based on these insights, we propose a conceptual framework and offer actionable, multi-level coping strategies that extend beyond individual practices to organizational and tool-level measures, capturing how the integration of GenAI reshapes technostress in modern DevOps practices.
Thu 16 AprDisplayed time zone: Brasilia, Distrito Federal, Brazil change
16:00 - 17:30 | Human and Social Aspects 9SE In Practice (SEIP) / Research Track at Oceania V Chair(s): Liliana Pasquale University College Dublin & Lero | ||
16:00 15mTalk | Breaking the Alphabet: Rethinking File Ordering in Code Review Research Track Md Shamimur Rahman University of Saskatchewan, Zadia Codabux University of Saskatchewan, Chanchal K. Roy University of Saskatchewan | ||
16:15 15mTalk | “Still in the Loop”: Coping with Technostress in DevOps Teams and the Impact of GenAI SE In Practice (SEIP) Dharneeka Jeyam Bern University of Applied Sciences, Anna Wiedemann Bern University of Applied Sciences, Gerhard Schwabe University of Zurich, Kadircan Güney Zurich University of Applied Sciences | ||
16:30 15mTalk | Opportunities and Barriers for AI-Supported Quality Planning in the Automotive Domain: An Interview Survey at Volkswagen SE In Practice (SEIP) Henrik Waschke Volkswagen AG & Harz University, Jacob Krüger Eindhoven University of Technology, Thomas Leich Harz University of Applied Sciences, Germany | ||
16:45 15mTalk | Product Manager Practices for Delegating Work to Generative AI: ``Accountability must not be delegated to non-human actors'' SE In Practice (SEIP) Mara Ulloa Northwestern University, Jenna L. Butler Microsoft Research, Sankeerti Haniyur Microsoft Corporation, Courtney Miller Carnegie Mellon University, Barrett Amos Microsoft Research, Advait Sarkar Microsoft Research and University of Cambridge, Margaret-Anne Storey University of Victoria Pre-print | ||
17:00 15mTalk | Understanding Task Enjoyment in Software Development: A Mixed-Methods Study on Practitioners From Poland and Brazil SE In Practice (SEIP) Klara Borowa Warsaw University of Technology, Bartłomiej Rasztabiga Warsaw University of Technology, Institute of Control and Computation Engineering, Hubert Soroka Warsaw University of Technology, Institute of Control and Computation Engineering, Maciej Tymoftyjewicz Warsaw University of Technology, Institute of Control and Computation Engineering, Rodrigo Rebouças de Almeida Federal University of Paraiba | ||
17:15 15mTalk | Group versus Individual Review Requests: Tradeoffs in Speed and Quality at Mozilla Firefox SE In Practice (SEIP) Matej Kučera None, Marco Castelluccio Mozilla, Daniel Feitosa University of Groningen, Ayushi Rastogi University of Groningen, The Netherlands | ||