Reducing Work Related Uncertainty: The Role of Communication and Control in Software Development

This paper applies an organizational theories lens to the general problems incurred when organizations undertake unclear, poorly specified technical projects for which there are no easy solutions. In an empirical study of 57 software development teams, we investigate the impact of team member communication and team control strategies on role and task ambiguity experienced by team members. Results indicate that stakeholder rating of team performance is associated with decreased levels of role and task ambiguity. This finding goes beyond previous studies by showing the mediating impact of role and task ambiguity on the relationship between team performance on one hand, and team communication and control strategies on the other.