Janet’s post — est. reading time: 11 min

DevSecOps holds enormous promise. By integrating security directly into software development and operations, it offers a path to faster, safer delivery. When done well, DevSecOps breaks down silos, reduces vulnerabilities, and enables teams to ship code confidently and continuously. Yet despite the growing adoption of DevSecOps practices, many organisations find themselves struggling. The vision is clear, but the reality is messier.

Why do so many DevSecOps initiatives falter? Why do efforts that begin with great enthusiasm stall under the weight of cultural resistance, tool overload, or poor execution?

To answer that, we need to look closely at the common pitfalls that undermine DevSecOps—and how forward-thinking teams are learning to overcome them.

Where DevSecOps Falls Apart

At its core, DevSecOps is about collaboration and integration—aligning development, security, and operations to share responsibility for software safety. But in many organisations, legacy habits and siloed thinking persist.

A major software company recently learnt this lesson the hard way. Their DevSecOps rollout began with ambition: to embed security into the entire CI/CD pipeline. But old habits proved difficult to break. Security teams insisted on using their existing, isolated tools. Developers felt bombarded by alerts from unfamiliar scanners. Operations teams lacked visibility into policy changes and compliance thresholds. What followed was a breakdown in trust—and ultimately, in results.

Developers grew fatigued by a constant stream of low-priority alerts. Security teams grew frustrated at the lack of progress. Leadership saw escalating costs without tangible improvements. The initiative collapsed. What remained was a fractured system, with vulnerabilities still unresolved and teams working at odds.

Six Common Reasons DevSecOps Initiatives Fail

From case studies and industry feedback, several failure patterns emerge. These are the most common stumbling blocks—many of which can be prevented with foresight and alignment.

1. Security Remains Siloed
Too often, security teams retain their traditional role as gatekeepers. Instead of integrating with development teams, they operate separately—creating bottlenecks and delays. In a DevSecOps model, this isolation is counterproductive. Security must be present from the beginning, not the end.

2. Tools Don’t Talk to Each Other
DevSecOps thrives on integration, yet many teams adopt tools without considering how they interconnect. This results in duplicated effort, incomplete coverage, and conflicting outputs. Without a unified view of risk, decision-making becomes guesswork.

3. Alert Fatigue and Over-Automation
Automated scanning is essential—but without filtering and prioritisation, it quickly becomes noise. Developers may receive hundreds of alerts daily, most of which are irrelevant. When everything is urgent, nothing is. Critical vulnerabilities get lost in the shuffle.

4. No Shared Success Metrics
If each team measures success differently, alignment becomes difficult. Developers may track deployment velocity. Security may focus on vulnerability counts. Operations may prioritise uptime. Without shared KPIs—like mean time to remediation (MTTR) or secure deployment rate—teams pull in different directions.

5. Lack of Leadership Support
DevSecOps transformation requires cultural change, not just technical upgrades. Without executive backing, cross-functional initiatives struggle for funding and priority. Leadership must champion the shift and model collaborative behaviour from the top.

6. Security Treated as a Final Gate
When security checks are reserved for the final stage of release, they become blockers. This undermines agility and invites conflict. Security must shift left—baked into code, builds, and planning phases to catch issues early and resolve them quickly.

How to Avoid These Pitfalls and Build Real Momentum

The good news? These failures are not inevitable. Organisations that recognise the signs early can course-correct and build DevSecOps strategies that deliver real results.

Here’s how successful teams avoid the common traps:

1. Foster Cross-Functional Collaboration
Encourage regular interactions between developers, security engineers, and operations teams. Use shared stand-ups, joint planning meetings, and retrospectives to build mutual understanding. Include security champions within dev squads to act as trusted bridges.

2. Choose Integrated, Developer-Friendly Tools
Select tools that plug seamlessly into the development workflow. Results should be visible inside pull requests or IDEs, not in separate dashboards. Prioritise tools that support APIs, integrations, and custom rulesets to reduce friction.

3. Prioritise Signal Over Noise
Tune automation to prioritise based on context—asset value, public exposure, exploitability. Group alerts, suppress false positives, and escalate based on risk. Give developers clear, actionable insights, not endless warnings.

4. Define Shared Metrics for Success
Agree on key performance indicators that reflect joint outcomes. These might include MTTR, percentage of releases passing security checks, or time saved through automation. Share dashboards so everyone sees the same picture.

5. Educate and Empower Teams
Offer regular training on secure coding, threat modelling, and pipeline security. Provide learning resources within the tools developers use. Empower teams to make secure decisions without always deferring to security specialists.

6. Make Security Part of Agile Delivery
Treat security as a quality issue, not a hurdle. Include security tasks in backlog grooming. Write user stories that cover both features and risk scenarios. Ensure the definition of “done” includes security verification.

Turning DevSecOps Into a Competitive Advantage

When implemented thoughtfully, DevSecOps becomes more than a framework. It becomes a culture. A way of working where security is everyone’s job and no one’s roadblock. A practice where code moves swiftly—and safely—from development to deployment.

Leading organisations have shown that this is not only possible—it’s practical. With the right leadership, metrics, and mindset, DevSecOps accelerates innovation, reduces costs, and improves customer trust. Fewer breaches. Faster releases. Better software.

The journey requires discipline, collaboration, and reflection. But the rewards are well worth it.

A Final Thought

If your DevSecOps initiative is underperforming, don’t assume the framework has failed. Look at where misalignment is occurring. Examine whether teams are supported, whether tooling is unified, and whether outcomes are measured in the right way.

DevSecOps fails when it's fragmented, reactive, and misunderstood. It succeeds when it becomes an embedded, transparent, and empowering force for continuous delivery—and continuous protection.

Turn the pitfalls into foundations. Let DevSecOps be your catalyst—not your compromise.