  Software is becoming a critical component of most products and organizational
functions. The ability to continuously improve software determines how well the
organization can respond to market opportunities. Continuous software
engineering promises numerous advantages over sprint-based or plan-driven
development. However, implementing a continuous software engineering pipeline
in an existing organization is challenging.
  In this invited position paper, we discuss the adoption challenges and argue
for a more systematic methodology to drive the adoption of continuous
engineering. Our discussion is based on ongoing work with several industrial
partners as well as experience reported in both state-of-practice and
state-of-the-art.
  We conclude that the adoption of continuous software engineering primarily
requires analysis of the organization, its goals, and constraints. One size
does not fit all purposes, meaning that many of the principles behind
continuous engineering are relevant for most organizations, but the level of
realization and the benefits may still vary. The main hindrances to continuous
flow of software arise from sub-optimal organizational structures and the lack
of alignment. Once those are removed, the organization can implement automation
to further improve the software delivery.
