9,213 research outputs found
Studying Attitudes and Social Norms in Agile Software Development
The purpose of this paper is to review research on attitudes and social norms
and connect it to the agile software development context. Furthermore, I
propose additional theories from social psychology (mainly the theory of
planned behavior and using the degree of internalization of social norms) that
would most certainly be useful for further sense-making of human
factors-related research on agile teams.Comment: Accepted at XP2018 Poster Track Sessio
Theory of Planned Behavior and the Influence of Communication Self-Efficacy on Intention to Pursue a Software Development Career
In modern software development, communication is one of the key success factors in software project development and team performance. However, software engineering (SE) students and educators may not have fully considered its significance in comparison to technical skills. The objective of the study was to determine the influence of communication self-efficacy and factors related to the theory of planned behavior (TPB) on the intention to pursue a career in software development. A survey was used to collect data from senior SE students at six universities in Thailand. The partial least squares â structural equation model (PLS-SEM) was used to analyze the data. The findings indicate that attitudes toward software development careers and communication self-efficacy for software development had a positive influence on the studentsâ intention to pursue a career in software development. This study is the first attempt to investigate how communication self-efficacy in software development affects intention to work in a software development career. Educators can use the findings to improve curricula to foster studentsâ communication self-efficacy and encourage them to pursue a software development career
Misaligned Values in Software Engineering Organizations
The values of software organizations are crucial for achieving high
performance; in particular, agile development approaches emphasize their
importance. Researchers have thus far often assumed that a specific set of
values, compatible with the development methodologies, must be adopted
homogeneously throughout the company. It is not clear, however, to what extent
such assumptions are accurate.
Preliminary findings have highlighted the misalignment of values between
groups as a source of problems when engineers discuss their challenges.
Therefore, in this study, we examine how discrepancies in values between groups
affect software companies' performance.
To meet our objectives, we chose a mixed method research design. First, we
collected qualitative data by interviewing fourteen (\textit{N} = 14) employees
working in four different organizations and processed it using thematic
analysis. We then surveyed seven organizations (\textit{N} = 184). Our analysis
indicated that value misalignment between groups is related to organizational
performance. The aligned companies were more effective, more satisfied, had
higher trust, and fewer conflicts.
Our efforts provide encouraging findings in a critical software engineering
research area. They can help to explain why some companies are more efficient
than others and, thus, point the way to interventions to address organizational
challenges.Comment: accepted for publication in Journal of Software: Evolution and
Proces
The Impact of Organizational Culture and Structure on the Routinization of Agile Software Development Methodologies
Agile software development methodologies represent a departure from the heavy document-driven procedures of plan-driven approaches. As organizations continue to adopt agile methodologies, understanding the factors that influence the routinization of agile is a growing concern. In recent years, researchers have focused their attention to the issues of post-adoptive agile use in order to extend our knowledge on agile assimilation. However, little research has been conducted to expose the assimilation gaps that occur as organizations seek to increase the extent and intensity of their agile use. Following prior literature, our objective is to articulate a model that explains the impact of organizational culture and structure on the routinization of agile methods. Our theoretical model provides helpful insights that extend our of knowledge of agile assimilation in organizations
Agile Adoption in Information Technology Departments at Research Universities
This dissertation analyzes Agile methods and how they are adopted by Information Technology (IT) departments in research universities. Existing literature has focused on Agile adoption in private and public sectors. This study fills a knowledge gap in the research literature on Agile adoption in university contexts. Three research questions guide this study: What are the uses of Agile methods in research universities? What are the specific factors that affect adoption of agile methods in research universities? Why do research universities adopt (or not adopt) Agile methods? By answering these questions, the present study contributes to the growing literature on the opportunities and challenges of adopting Agile methods.
Methodologically, the study is based on a survey of the Chief Information Officers (CIOs) of 418 research universities (response rate of 41.4%) and elite interviews. The survey included questions about Agile adoption in terms of purpose, methods, challenges, and organizational environment. The elite interviews explored the factors affecting Agile adoption and were supplemented with secondary documents about the organizational characteristics of the IT departments.
The survey results show that many IT departments (nearly 60%) in these universities have adopted Agile. Agile is used to accelerate software development, manage projects, and increase productivity. The challenges of adopting Agile include pervasiveness of traditional waterfall methods, funding limitations, lack of skills, inconsistent process and practices, and organizational resistance to change. With respect to organizational factors, the level of research university is a determinant for adopting Agile. R1 Doctoral Universities (i.e., very high research activity) have more adoption of Agile methods compared to R2 Doctoral Universities (i.e., high research activity) or R3 Doctoral/ Professional Universities (i.e., D/PU). CIOsâ experience with Agile is a critical factor for adopting Agile. Elite interviews with the CIOs show the significance of the organizational context to adopt Agile.
IT departments support university research and teaching; hence, these departments have a constant need to address the university departmentsâ needs. Leadership of these departments influences Agile adoption. Agile fosters frequent and effective communication among the team members. Overall, IT departments adopt Agile to increase their organizational efficiency in delivering their services efficiently within the universities
Is change on the horizon for Maori and Pacifica female high school students when it comes to ICT?
This paper explores some of the factors that discourage the participation of MÄori and Pacific girls in ICT in New Zealand. Despite many ICT job opportunities, there has been a steady decrease in the percentage of girls, especial MÄori and Pacific girls entering into ICT study, and pursuing ICT careers. This study used a modified version of the conceptual framework designed by Bernhardt (2014) based on the 'STEMcell' model. The STEMcell framework was used to explores the factors that discourage participation in ICT through such concepts as cultural, social, structural and social IT that contribute to the likelihood of studentâs career choice in ICT. An online questionnaire gathered data from year 11 students studying at high schools within Wellington, New Zealand. The findings indicated that Pacific girlâs more than MÄori girls reported that their family members were seen as role models, which could impact on their future career choices. The statistical results also show that stereotypes are still alive in both MÄori and Pacific year 11 studentâs perceptions and that both Pacific and MÄori girls from year 11 are unlikely to follow a career in ICT. Currently, the number of MÄori and Pacific girls enrolling in ICT subjects at secondary school is still substantially below that for boys and, until changes are made, MÄori and Pacific girls going into the industry will be in the minority
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