In software engineering environments, motivation has become an imperative tool for increasing the productivity and creativity levels of projects.
The aim of this research is to develop a validated conceptual multifactor and motivating model that represents the interaction between the organisational, occupational and interpersonal factors in software engineering environments. However, the application of well-known motivation tools cannot guarantee high motivational levels among the members of software engineering teams. Therefore, several phenomena have been monitored and empirically tested related to the daily practices in the software engineering industry.
Reviewing the literature on motivation in software engineering uncovered a list of influential factors that could motivate individuals in the workplace. These factors have been suggested as being grouped into three categories (interpersonal, occupational and organisational).
The literature review stage was followed by a preliminary study to discuss and validate these factors in greater detail by interviewing eight experts drawn from the software engineering industry. The preliminary study provided this research with an initial conceptual model that could broaden the understanding of the recent state of motivation in software engineering environments.
The initial model was validated and expanded by conducting two types of research (quantitative and qualitative) based on the type of information gleaned. Accordingly, 208 experienced software engineers and members of teams in the software development industry were involved in this research.
The results from this research revealed a statistically significant interaction between factors from different categories (interpersonal, occupational and organisational). This interaction has helped in developing an updated new model of motivation in software engineering. In addition, the application of motivation theories in software engineering could be affected by some work-related factors. These factors were found in this research to be member role, contract types, age, organisational structure and citizenship status. Thus, all these factors have been given a high consideration when designing rewards systems in software engineering
