Compliance

Validating code with static and vulnerability check tools is smooth, fast, and reliable.

What is compliance in software development?

Compliance in software development refers to the process of validating that code meets required standards, including security requirements, industry regulations, and organizational policies. It typically involves using static analysis tools, vulnerability scanners, and other automated checks to identify potential issues before they reach production.

Modern compliance involves several key components:

1. Static code analysis - Automated review of code without execution to find defects, vulnerabilities, and style violations
2. Security vulnerability scanning - Identifying potential security weaknesses in code and dependencies
3. Open source compliance - Ensuring third-party libraries meet licensing and security requirements
4. Regulatory compliance - Adherence to industry-specific regulations (finance, healthcare, etc.)
5. Automated integration - Embedding compliance checks within the development workflow and CI/CD pipelines

As one engineering leader noted:

"We implement an open API linting tool along with various open source products for static analysis of our software designs throughout our development process. We make an effort to integrate these tools directly into the developer workflow to maintain productivity."

Engineering Manager at Software Development Company

Why is compliance important for developer experience?

Compliance directly impacts developer experience in several critical ways:

Preventing costly rework and security incidents

When compliance checks are integrated early in the development process, developers avoid the frustration of last-minute changes or security incidents that require emergency fixes. This preventative approach reduces stress and improves work satisfaction.

Maintaining velocity while meeting standards

Effective compliance processes allow developers to move quickly while ensuring quality and security standards are met. As one interviewee mentioned:

"The entire process runs through our candidate agents, which perform various tests, validations, and security compliance checks. Despite this comprehensive verification, the complete deployment only takes about 20 minutes."

Director of Engineering at Software Development Company

Supporting regulated environments

In industries with strict regulatory requirements, compliance tooling gives developers confidence that their work meets necessary standards without requiring deep expertise in every regulation.

"On one hand, there are specific compliance and regulatory requirements mandated by the client themselves, as they are subject to group oversight. Being part of a larger group means they undergo a form of annual audit process."

CEO at IT Services Company

How do you measure compliance effectiveness?

Using the DevEx Survey

The Network Perspective DevEx Survey directly measures compliance effectiveness with the statement: "Validating code with static and vulnerability check tools is smooth, fast, and reliable." This metric helps organizations identify if compliance processes are creating friction in the development workflow.

By tracking responses to this question across teams and over time, organizations can:

1. Identify teams struggling with compliance bottlenecks
2. Measure the impact of compliance tool improvements
3. Benchmark against industry standards
4. Detect trends in developer satisfaction with compliance processes

System log metrics

While the DevEx survey provides valuable qualitative feedback, organizations can also measure:

• Time spent addressing compliance issues
• Number of compliance-related deployment delays
• Percentage of automated vs. manual compliance checks
• Mean time to remediate compliance violations

What are common compliance challenges affecting developer experience?

Manual and time-consuming processes

When compliance checks are manual or require significant developer intervention, they create friction and delay feedback loops. This is particularly problematic when:

• Developers must manually run tools rather than having them integrated into CI/CD
• Results require extensive manual review or triage
• Checks are run late in the development process when changes are more expensive

Restrictive or conflicting standards

Organizations may implement overly strict compliance standards or have conflicting requirements across different projects:

"Yes, we had quite restrictive standards in place, aiming for zero issues in some cases. However, it really depends on the client. If there were specific code considerations, we would sometimes relax our requirements a bit."

Delivery Manager at Software Development Company

Poor integration with development workflows

Compliance tools that operate outside the normal development workflow create context switching and reduce developer productivity.

False positives and alert fatigue

Excessive false positives in security or compliance scans lead to alert fatigue and may cause developers to ignore legitimate issues.

How can organizations improve compliance processes?

Automate and integrate compliance checks

Embedding compliance checks directly into the development workflow reduces friction and accelerates feedback.

Focus on developer experience

Design compliance processes with developer experience in mind by:

• Providing clear, actionable feedback
• Offering remediation guidance for identified issues
• Enabling quick feedback cycles during development
• Creating exceptions processes for legitimate edge cases

Implement appropriate tooling

Many organizations have found success with tools like:

"There are tools like SonarQube that perform static code analysis and can flag when something might be excessive or problematic in your codebase."

Delivery Manager at Software Development Company

Balance automation with human judgment

While automation is crucial, human expertise remains important for:

• Prioritizing issues based on context and risk
• Determining appropriate exceptions
• Evaluating new compliance requirements
• Training models and tools to reduce false positives

What role does security play in compliance processes?

Security is a critical component of compliance, particularly in industries handling sensitive data:

"Security is the second critical factor. As an e-commerce company, we undergo regular security audits. We carefully track all libraries and the security defects they address. Security is absolutely vital to our business—a single successful breach could result in the company having to compensate shoppers indefinitely, creating devastating financial consequences."

Director of Engineering at Software Development Company

Security compliance typically involves:

• Vulnerability scanning of application code
• Dependency analysis for known vulnerabilities
• Secure coding practices verification
• Authentication and authorization checks
• Data protection validation

As one expert emphasized:

"When I suspect potential security issues, I begin by conducting an OWASP Software Security Maturity Model assessment, which provides an excellent starting point. This approach helps us understand security's role throughout the entire software development lifecycle. Many people mistakenly equate security with just cybersecurity, but it's much broader—it encompasses how you release software, how you operate systems, and how you develop applications."

Associate Director at IT Services Company

How does compliance fit into the broader DevOps ecosystem?

Compliance is increasingly recognized as a key component of the DevOps ecosystem, alongside testing, CI/CD, and monitoring:

"This represents the ideal domain for DevOps teams. Any improvements in test quality, efficiency, compliance, CI/CD, and monitoring fall squarely within their area of responsibility and expertise."

Strategic Sales Executive at Software Development Company

Successful organizations integrate compliance as part of a holistic approach to quality and reliability rather than treating it as a separate concern.

What are the benefits of optimizing compliance processes?

Increased developer productivity

When compliance processes are smooth, fast, and reliable, developers spend less time wrestling with tools and more time creating value.

Improved security posture

Effective compliance processes catch security issues earlier, reducing the risk of vulnerabilities in production systems.

Faster time-to-market

By integrating compliance checks into CI/CD pipelines, organizations can validate code continuously without adding manual review steps that delay releases.

Higher code quality

Many compliance tools also identify code quality issues, helping maintain a clean, maintainable codebase.

Reduced audit overhead

Well-implemented compliance processes generate evidence automatically, reducing the manual effort required during audits.