Software Development Project Teams Research Articles

Impact of team-composition and project-characteristics on Individual-knowledge growth and performance of onsite-offshore distributed software teams

ABSTRACT This paper proposes a conceptual model to measure the performance of onsite-offshore based global software development project (OGSDP) teams. The model is formulated through a review of literature and and a set of focus group studies, and it considers team composition, knowledge growth of the team members and project characteristics. Strategic policy analysis is then conducted using real-life case data from five global software development projects. The results highlight the significant influence of team composition and project characteristics on OGSDP team performance. Heterogeneities among team members may hinder knowledge-growth, thus leading to time and cost overruns as well as increase in latent errors. The model may help software managers to theoretically assess and optimise team composition at the beginning of a project, enabling them to anticipate team performance well in advance. In summary, this research offers practical insights into improving the performance of distributed software teams (which are smaller in size and duration), aiding software managers in achieving successful project outcomes.

Кому принадлежат права на программу ЭВМ

The article analyses the current legislation as regards the identification of persons to whom the rights to a computer programme should belong: whether they are authors, copyright holders or users? It emphasises the development of a part of a software product as a significant attribute for determining its authorship. The composition of the software development project team is considered, and it is analysed which of these roles can lead to the emergence of authorship for a computer programme created within the project. The question of whether task trackers and other automated project management systems can replace job descriptions for the purposes of confirming the official status of the programme is being investigated. In addition, examples of automatic programming tools are presented and the question of whether the user of such software tools can be the author of a computer programme created with their help is considered.

Team Barriers to Tacit Knowledge Sharing in Software Development Project Teams

Software Development Projects (SDPs) are being conducted at a rapid rate in response to the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), even though SDPs are associated with very high failure rates. Their failure rate of SDPs has been declared as an International Crisis. SDPs are knowledge intensive in nature, whereby knowledge is essential when performing socio-technical tasks within SDPs. One of the reasons for the failure of SDPs is limited sharing of tacit knowledge within SDP teams. Limited tacit knowledge sharing within SDP teams results in the teams not being in position to perform their socio-technical tasks to the required standards which leads to success of SDPs. The main purpose of this research study was to identify the team-oriented barriers that limit the sharing of tacit knowledge within SDP teams. The researchers conducted a qualitative study and relied on qualitative data to achieve the objectives of the study. The qualitative data were collected through interviews and thematic data analysis was conducted to generate the results. A total of seven team-oriented barriers were identified includes team-culture, team-orientation, team-dispersion, team-cohesion, team-characteristics, trust, and communication. These issues are related to each other and influence one another in a positive way. These barriers stem from the entire SDP team, which is responsible for ensuring the success of SDPs.

The model of SCRUM master selection using fuzzy sets

Problem. The complexity of software is constantly growing. Today a user is interested in software that is integrated into all aspects of their life. Creating a large number of diverse software applications is impossible without the formation of a software development team. Agile methodologies are used to develop most modern programs. The most common is the SCRUM methodology. Team working is managed by a SCRUM master, which is the interface between the owner and the project team. Therefore, choosing an effective SCRUM master is an urgent task. Aim The work aims to increase the efficiency of software development projects by developing the SCRUM master selection model using fuzzy sets, which will consider the individual characteristics and advantages of the SCRUM project team members. Methodology. The methods and principles of fuzzy mathematics are used. Decision-making methods in the conditions of fuzzy input data were used to develop a model for choosing a SCRUM master for a software development project. Results. Today, there are many variants of models for software development projects. The choice of one or another option depends on the features and requirements of the project. A fuzzy model for choosing a SCRUM master for managing a software development project has been developed. An example of work distribution between performers using the theory of fuzzy sets is given. Calculations were made in Microsoft Excel. Originality. The developed model allows choosing a SCRUM master in the conditions of fuzzy information about the individual preferences of the areas of the software development project team. Practical value. Using the proposed SCRUM master selection model for a software development project will improve project team communication and reduce the development time. In addition, the proposed model can be used to select a SCRUM master for other projects.

TOTAL DISRUPTION OF PERFORMANCE FOR SOFTWARE PROGRAMMER TEAM SELECTION

The lack of skills of the development team is one factor the failure of software development project team. Interdependency based selection that is considered can increase the chances of team success does not consider skills in the calculation of total disruption of performance. Improvement total disruption of performance formula by adding skill variables can reduce the risk of project failure, in terms of the number of requirements that are delays and bugs/ errors

Mathematical model of software development project team composition optimization with fuzzy initial data

Increasingly frequent changes in demand for products, reducing product life cycles, changes in the business environment during a crisis, the innovative nature of projects, the complexity of forecasting external and internal conditions, the impact of the human factor lead to increased uncertainty and inability to plan team activities with a given degree of accuracy. In this regard, the subject matter of the article is the task of creating an adaptive project team that can work effectively in the mentioned above conditions. This task is especially relevant for the sphere of software development. The sphere is dynamic and characterized by frequent changes in product requirements, technologies, working conditions, and restrictions on project implementation. Agile approaches are used to manage such projects, which can help the team respond to uncertainties and frequent changes. To date, there are many agile approaches to project management, but the issue of selecting team members in such approaches is insufficiently covered. Therefore, this work formalizes the task of deciding on the selection of software development team members, considering the uncertainty and subjectivity of the information that affects the selection of candidates for the team. The task of the work is to create a decision-making model based on the use of the mathematical apparatus of fuzzy sets and methods of operations research. Such a model should allow considering the uncertainty of estimates of project requirements and the level of competence of team candidates. The result is a mathematical model of a two-criterion constrained optimization problem. The first objective function is aimed at finding a team composition that maximizes the maximum competencies of its members. The second criterion is aimed at forming a team with the maximum sum of competencies for all indicators, considering the weight of each indicator. The first constraint assumes that at least one team member meets the competency requirements expressed by a specific indicator. Additionally, it is required that the available time fund of the team members allows the project to be completed on time. It considers the limitation on the salary of the team. Conclusions. Solving the problem in accordance with the proposed mathematical model will allow making a team as readily as possible to meet the existing and new requirements for the project staff. The last circumstance is especially important when implementing a software development projects.

The influence of ethical leadership and team learning on team performance in software development projects

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of team learning processes (information acquisition, information processing and information storage and retrieval) on team performance in software development projects and to assess the effect of ethical leadership and its influence on these processes. Design/methodology/approach The authors examined 354 software development project teams in Thailand. A quantitative study was conducted through a Web-based survey, with structural equation modelling used to test the hypotheses. Findings The results of this study revealed that ethical leadership is positively correlated with the team learning processes of information acquisition, information processing and information storage and retrieval. However, only information processing and information storage and retrieval are positively related to team performance. The results indicate that ethical leadership has a positive direct effect on team performance. The results also show that the positive relationship between ethical leadership and team performance is partially mediated by team learning processes, namely, information processing and information storage and retrieval. Research limitations/implications This study highlights the importance of ethical leadership and guides managers towards considering the characteristics of both ethical leadership and team learning processes for enhancing team performance in software development projects. Originality/value This is the first study to the best of authors’ knowledge to examine the role of team learning processes in mediating the relationship between ethical leadership and team performance, particularly concerning software development projects. The present research contributes to the literature on team performance management, emphasising the manner in which ethical leadership can result in team learning and team performance. The findings of this study can be used to encourage organisations to develop ethical leadership behaviours and team learning processes in software development projects.

Ambidexterity in Agile software development: a conceptual paper

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to apply the concept of organizational ambidexterity as a conceptual lens to increase the understanding of tensions between exploitation (continuity) and exploration (change) in Agile software development (ASD) project teams, and particularly the balancing (ambidextrous) strategies utilized.Design/methodology/approachA conceptual framework was constructed from interdisciplinary sources on ambidexterity. A literature review of publications on ambidexterity in ASD was then performed, and the results from the selected publications were classified according to an extension of the conceptual framework.FindingsContextual ambidexterity in ASD is affected by the four basic coherent concepts: time, task, team and transition. The study found that most ambidextrous factors and strategies were task and team-related. In addition, a mixture of hard (performance) strategies and soft (social) strategies is needed in order for people/teams to (be able to) become ambidextrous.Practical implicationsTo provide a better understanding of ASD, it is important to identify a broader set of ambidextrous factors and strategies that can impact ASD project teams. The expanded conceptual framework can serve as a basis for future empirical research and provide insights to practitioners on how to strengthen ambidexterity in ASD projects.Originality/valueThe contribution is of great importance for ASD research and practice, as ASD methods are a popular method for managing projects within ASD and in other nonsoftware organizations. In addition, as more and more organizations struggle to deal with rapidly changing environments, interest in the phenomena of paradoxical tensions and the strategy (ambidexterity) to deal with these tensions increase.

Pengembangan Aplikasi People Management dalam Software Development dengan Pendekatan Project Management Antipatterns

Faktor manusia dalam proses pengembangan perangkat lunak menjadi salah satu penentu keberhasilan suatu proyek, terlepas dari teknologi dan tools yang digunakan. Dalam praktiknya, banyak project manager tidak memiliki dataset mengenai hard skill dan soft skill anggotanya. Hal ini mengantarkan tim proyek pengembangan perangkat lunak terjebak dalam situasi antipatterns irrational management. Berdasarkan beberapa faktor utama penyebab kegagalan proyek pengembangan perangkat lunak, diperlukan adanya suatu mitigation plan yang dapat membantu project manager dalam melakukan manajemen sumber daya manusia dalam sebuah tim. Mitigation plan yang dapat dilakukan adalah dengan mengembangkan aplikasi people management yang didasarkan pada prinsip-prinsip Project Management Antipatterns. Makalah ini mengajukan suatu pemodelan baru dalam bentuk aplikasi untuk melakukan people management di dalam pengembangan perangkat lunak dengan pendekatan Project Management Antipatterns. Penelitian ini mengajukan suatu pemodelan baru dalam bentuk aplikasi untuk melakukan people management di dalam pengembangan perangkat lunak dengan pendekatan Project Management Antipatterns. Hasil yang diberikan berupa pemetaan tim developer kepada task yang relevan berdasarkan hard skill dan soft skill yang dimiliki. Selain itu, aplikasi ini juga memberikan hasil berupa rekomendasi treatment yang bisa dilakukan terhadap tim untuk meningkatkan produktivitas serta mengurangi potensi risiko yang ditimbulkan dari hasil diagnosis praktik yang buruk. Pendekatan yang digunakan terbukti mampu meningkatkan produktivitas tim secara keseluruhan. Refactored solution yang direkomendasikan juga terbukti efektif menurunkan nilai antipatterns dari satu sprint ke sprint berikutnya.

Breaking the flow: a study of contradictions in information systems development (ISD)

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine contradictions (specifically tertiary and quaternary contradictions) that can disrupt the flow of work in contemporary systems development methods.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses Activity theory (AT) as a theoretical lens to: examine ISD flow as an interrelated activity system; and identify contradictions. AT is pertinent in the context of this study as rather than view contradictions as a threat to prematurely abandon the use of flow tools and metrics, it shows how contradictions can act as a motor for change and continuity. This study adopts a longitudinal single case study approach including face-to-face interviews with management and software development project teams, as well as direct observations and document analysis.FindingsThis study identifies tertiary and quaternary contradictions, and highlights the influence of contradictions on flow-based systems development.Social implicationsThis study provides a set of contradictions for researchers and practitioners. It shows that contradictions can be culturally or politically challenging to confront, and even when resolved, can have intended or unintended consequences.Originality/valueThis paper fulfils an identified need to study ISD flow from the perspective of interrelated activity systems and beyond its initial implementation phase.

Team wisdom in software development projects and its impact on project performance

While the concept of wisdom, which refers to how people make right use of their knowledge through their practical actions, judgments, and ethical decisions, in general attracts researcher interest in a variety of disciplines, such as philosophy, psychology and management studies, little is known about how wisdom is conceptualized and then operationalized in the software development project team context. Based on the frameworks for philosophical, group and organizational wisdom, this paper identifies software development project team wisdom as a process for how team members best use the stock and flow of their knowledge through collective judgment, virtue-ethics, emotions/feelings, and effective decision-making during their project-related efforts. Adapting the efforts and functional similarities of both group and organizational wisdom practices, this effort determines that wisdom-related mechanisms (e.g., team diversity, networking with other teams and people, and their past experiences), joint epistemic actions (e.g., team reasoning, intuition, and aesthetic capacity), and team virtue and prudence become the different faces of the software development team wisdom process. We then propose how these different faces interrelate and how they also relate to project process effectiveness, such as team learning and speed-to-users, both of which have been rarely addressed empirically in the context of software development project teamwork.By examining 210 in-house software development project teams in a field study and using structural equation modeling analysis, our results empirically show the following: (a) software development wisdom-related mechanisms positively relate to software development team prudence and virtue and their joint epistemic actions, (b) software development team prudence and virtue are positively associated with software development team joint epistemic actions, and further (d) software development team joint epistemic actions are positively associated with software development project process effectiveness. We conclude by discussing our findings as they relate to the wisdom framework of software development project teams and suggest the key managerial implications for different types of software development projects.

Temporal Analysis of the Diffusion of Knowledge in Networks of Software Maintenance and Development Project Team

Different approaches have been established for applications of social and complex networks involving biological systems, passing through collaborative systems in knowledge networks and organizational systems. In this latter application, we highlight the studies focused on the diffusion of information and knowledge in networks. However, most of the time, the propagation of information in these networks and the resulting process of creation and diffusion of knowledge, have been studied from static perspectives. Additionally, the very concept of diffusion inevitably implies the inclusion of the temporal dimension, due to that it is an essentially dynamic process. Although static analysis provides an important perspective in structural terms, the behavioral view that reflects the evolution of the relationships of the members of these networks over time is best described by temporal networks. Thus, it is possible to analyze both the information flow and the structural changes that occur over time, which influences the dynamics of the creation and diffusion of knowledge. This article describes the computational modeling used to elucidate the creation and diffusion of knowledge in temporal networks formed to execute software maintenance and construction projects, for the period between 2007 and 2013, in the SERVIÇO FEDERAL DE PROCESSAMENTO DE DADOS (FEDERAL DATA PROCESSING SERVICE-SERPRO)—a public organization that provides information and communication technology services. The methodological approach adopted for the study was based on techniques for analyzing social and complex networks and on the complementary extensions that address temporal modeling of these networks. We present an exploratory longitudinal study that enabled a dynamic and structural analysis of the knowledge networks formed by members of software maintenance and development project teams between 2007 and 2013. The study enabled identification of knowledge categories throughout this period, in addition to the determination that the networks have a structure with small-world and scale-free models. Finally, we concluded that, in general, the topologies of the networks studies had characteristics for facilitating the flow of knowledge within the organization.

Challenge of Millennials in Project Management

The need for understanding Generation Y employees' attitudes and expectations that considerably differed from previous generations had been a focus of researchers in the last decades. IT industry and specifically software industry had been among the most popular employment areas of Generation Y professionals and hence Generation Y Software Developers constitutes the majority of the work force in the software industry. As known, software development is a project-based business where the project management methodologies and principles are utilized. Similar to other project based works, the effectiveness of human resources management and team development is the determinant of project success in software development. Therefore, to effectively manage and to adapt appropriate approaches for leading the project teams which include Generation Y software professionals, managers and leaders prior in need to understand their perspective. In this context, research aims to understand the expectations and attitudes of Generation Y Software Developer professionals in projects. The research is structured in two parts reflecting these dual aims. The first part of the research addresses the expectations of Y generation employees from project management and project environment in software development projects. The second part of the research explores the attitudes of Y generation Employees in software development project teams. Survey is conducted with the participation of 113 Generation Y Software Professionals who are employed in major software companies in Turkey. Basic concepts that are explored in the study are expectations from working environment, expectations from project type and content, leadership, motivation factors, challenges faced, perceptions on generation conflicts and the attitudes of Generation Y professionals towards project-based work and work environments. Software industry is dominated by project based management methods, perceptions and attitudes of Generation Y in projects are expected to provide practical guidelines to policy makers and HR professionals in developing solutions and tools for improving motivations and effectiveness of Generation Y employees.

Examining the attributes of transitions between team roles in the software development projects

In project management, efficiency of team performance is often associated with the balance in terms of its team roles. All explanations, however, as well as conclusions that relate to balancing a project team, were obtained verbally and are not confirmed either theoretically or empirically. Therefore, it is appropriate to examine the transitions between team roles based on mathematical modeling. To understand regularities in the transitions of team members between team roles, we constructed a transition model based on the discrete Markov chain and defined parameters of the model. Using the simulation, we performed the study and demonstrated that it is natural for a software development project team to balance the team roles. This attribute does not depend on the initial composition of the team in terms of team roles. A difference in initial conditions only affects the rate of change in the probabilities of individual team roles, but the attribute of reducing the difference between the values of probabilities of individual team roles persists. The results obtained confirm that by helping some team members to take on secondary roles to prevent the duplication of roles or to resolve certain problems, a project manager may influence the balancing of team in terms of team roles.

What Are the Characteristics that Software Development Project Team Members Associate with a Good Project Manager?

In this study we investigate what software development project team members consider to be a good project manager. Previous research has been carried out using project manager self-assessments, other project stakeholder views, or recruiters’ views. This qualitative study used the repertory grid technique to identify the characteristics that project team members associate with a good project manager. This technique has been adopted because of its strength in eliciting personal constructs. Among the 18 characteristics identified, the seven most relevant were classified and compared with previous findings, which reveals differences between the team members’ and project managers’ and other stakeholders’ perceptions. Those findings complement the existing skill set and could be considered when recruiting and training project managers and staffing projects.

Antecedents and consequences of collective empathy in software development project teams

The term empathy has attracted many researchers from a variety of disciplines; however, a team's collective empathy, which is composed of cognitive, affective, and behavioral dimensions, has rarely been addressed in the literature. In this study, we empirically investigated the relationship between the collective empathy of a team and the effectiveness of its project process. Additionally, we tested the role of team intimacy-related factors, such as interpersonal trust, within-team communication, and team member familiarity, in collective empathy, as well as the moderating role of group norms on the collective empathy-process effectiveness link. By studying 122 software development projects, we found that cognitive-based trust, formal within-team communication, and team member familiarity influence the collective empathy of project teams. We also found that collective empathy affects team learning and product speed-to-market and results in lower project development costs. Furthermore, we determined that the existence of group norms moderates the relationships among collective empathy, speed-to-market, and lower development costs. The managerial and theoretical implications of the study have also been provided.

Effects of interpersonal trust, team leader support, rewards, and knowledge sharing mechanisms on knowledge sharing in project teams

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of interpersonal trust, team leader support, rewards, and knowledge sharing mechanisms on voluntary knowledge sharing in software development project teams in Sri Lanka.Design/methodology/approachSurvey methodology was used and 150 software developers who were directly involved in developing and maintaining a software product from project teams responded. Regression analysis was used for data analysis.FindingsInterpersonal trust and rewards have significant positive effects on knowledge sharing. Although it was anticipated that the team leader support would be a significant predictor of knowledge sharing, the results did not provide evidence for a positive and significant relationship. “Work‐group communications” and “Personal interactions” had significant positive effects on knowledge sharing.Originality/valueIt is expected that the findings of this study will provide useful information to better understand the predictors of the extent of knowledge sharing at the individual level in the context of project teams. By doing so, this exploratory study will be able to establish baseline data and would be a source of general guidance in stimulating future research in this area.

Antecedents and Results of Emotional Capability in Software Development Project Teams*

Emotional capability is considered an emerging phenomenon in the group behavior literature. However, little attention is given to the role of emotional capability in heterogeneous work groups in general and cross‐functional product development teams in particular in an empirical context. In this study, the antecedents and results of the emotional capability in software development project teams using Huy's (1999) dynamics of encouragement, displaying freedom, playfulness, experiencing, reconciliation, and identification constructs were investigated. By studying 95 software development project teams in the IT departments of 52 firms, it was found, on the basis of using the Partial Least Squares (PLS) method, that the dynamics of encouragement is positively related to the speed‐to‐market, and the dynamics of encouragement and experiencing is positively related to the market success of new software products. In addition, it was demonstrated that team autonomy has a positive influence on the dynamics of encouragement; collaboration among team members has a positive impact on the dynamics of encouragement and experiencing; and team experience has a positive effect on the dynamics of experiencing. This study has several theoretical and managerial implications. In terms of theoretical implications, this study enhances the empathy concept by operationalizing it at the team level, i.e., collective empathy, and tests its impact on the project performance. This study also highlights the roles of collective hope, joy, and enthusiasm in a project's performance by empirically demonstrating the benefits of working in a fun environment. Further, this study empirically shows that team emotional capability mediates the relationship between collaboration among team members and market success of the software products, indicating that management and regulation of the emotions acts as a platform to actualize the joint behavior toward some goal of common interest for the successful products. In terms of managerial implications, this study suggests that managers should enhance the team's emotional capability to enhance the project performance. In particular, managers should promote courage, joy, and hope, and increase communication among people to develop collective empathy and the “liking” of one party for the other. Managers should also promote collaboration and mutual interaction among team members; give autonomy to project team members to make important decisions about the software product; keep control of the project's process to some level; and encourage people to use their previous experience during the projects to increase the team's emotional capability.

Formal model for assigning human resources to teams in software projects

Context Human resources play a critical role in software project success. However, people are still the least formalized factor in today’s process models. Generally, people are assigned to roles and project teams are formed on the basis of project leaders’ experience of people, constraints (e.g. availability) and skill requirements. Yet this process has to take multiple factors into account. Few works in the literature model this process. Most of these are informal proposals focusing on the individual assignment of people to project tasks and do not consider other aspects like team formation as a whole. Objective In this paper we formulate a formal model for assigning human resources to software project teams. Additionally, we describe the key results of the knowledge management process enacted to output the elements of the model. Method The model elements were identified using the Delphi expert consultation method and applying psychological tests. The proposed model was implemented in a software tool and validated on two software development organization assignment scenarios. Results We built a formal model for the process of assigning human resources to software project teams. This model takes into account as many factors as possible and aids the assignment of individuals to project roles, as well as the formation of the team as a whole. We found that the rules that were identified to form software development project teams are useful. From the tests we found that model implementation was feasible (all the executions of the implemented problem-solving algorithms output feasible solutions in response times that can be considered as acceptable). Conclusion Using the Delphi method we were able to propose software project roles and competences. Psychological tests and data mining tools identified useful rules for forming software project teams. These were used to build a formal model. This model was built into a tool that returns role assignments in acceptable response times. This decision support tool helps managers assign people to roles and to form teams. Using the tool, project leaders can flexibly evaluate different team make-ups, taking into account several factors, as well as different constraints and objectives.

Identification of Patterns for the Formation of Software Development Projects Teams

The formation of software development project teams is carried out, conventionally, in an empiric manner; however, in this process, multiple factors should be considered. In literature, the works where this process is modeled are scarce, and most do not consider aspects linked to the formation of the team as a whole. In this paper, a group of patterns that contribute to the formation of software development projects teams are identified through the use of the Delphi method, psychological tests, and data mining tools. The paper identifies patterns that are validated experimentally, while psychological characteristics in the process of software team formations are exemplified.