An exploratory study of productivity perceptions in software teams

Published in: International Conference on Software Engineering – May 2022

Written by 

Anastasia Ruvimova, Alexander Lill, Jan Gugler, Lauren Howe, Elaine Huang, Gail Murphy and Thomas Fritz

Summary 

What we found: we asked software developers to reflect on their own and their team’s productivity over the course of several months, using a novel application developed for smart watches. Software developers reported a low awareness of their team’s productivity, instead largely using their individual productivity as a proxy for the team.

Why it matters: members of teams may often lack awareness of their team’s work and progress, which undermines perceptions of team productivity. Collaboration tools and processes could be changed to help increase this awareness and enhance team productivity in software development.

What next: to help teams work together more effectively, it may be important to create awareness around a team’s level of productivity, such as by sharing progress and accomplishments. This may be especially critical when teams are fluid or when teams are working remotely, as these factors make awareness of team productivity even more challenging to develop.