Software Development: Processes and Performance

This paper presents data describing effects on software development performance due to both the production methods of software development and the social processes of how software developers work together. Data from 40 software development teams at one site that make commercial (or shrinkwrapped) software are used to assess the effects of production methods and social processes on both software product quality and team performance. Findings indicate that production methods, such as the use of software methodologies and automated development tools, provide no explanatory power about variations in either software product quality or team performance. Social processes, such as the level of informal coordination and communication, the ability to resolve intra-group conflicts, and the degree of supportiveness among the team members, can account for 25% of the variations in software product quality. These findings suggest two paradoxes for practice: (1) that teams of software developers are brought together to create variability and production methods are used to reduce variability and (2) that team-level social processes may be a better predictor of software development team performance than are production methods. These findings also suggest that other factors, perhaps other social actions and/or individual-level differences, must account for the large and unexplained variations in team performance.