Towards high performance software teamwork

Context: Research indicates that software quality, to a large extent, depends on cooperation within software teams [1] Since software development is a creative process that involves human interaction in the context of a team, it is important to understand the teamwork factors that influence performance. Objective: We present a study design in which we aim to examine the factors within software development teams that have significant influence on the performance of the team. We propose to consider factors such as communication, coordination of expertise, cohesion, trust, cooperation, and value diversity. The study investigates whether and to which extent these factors correlate with a performance of the team. In order to capture a variety of relevant teamwork factors, we created a new model extending the work of Hoegl and Gemuenden [2] and Liang et al. [3] Method: The study is based on quantitative research by means of an online questionnaire. We invited more than 20 software development teams in the Netherlands to participate in our team performance assessment, evaluating the teamwork and performance of the team. Based on an average team size of five people, one would therefore expect at least 100 participants in total. Also, product stakeholders will be asked to give their independent assessments of the performance of the team. Expected result: By analyzing the correlation between teamwork factors and team performance, we expect to gain a deeper understanding of how teamwork factors influence team performance. We also expect to validate the implemented extensions of teamwork model with respect to earlier work. Conclusion: Software teamwork factors are important to understand. In order to get a better understanding of the role of teamwork factors, this study should be conducted.