Towards understanding the underlying structure of motivational factors for software engineers to guide the definition of motivational programs

Authors:
Fabio Q. B. da Silva;A. César C. França
Affiliations:
Centro de Informática, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (CIn - UFPE), Cidade Universitária, Recife 50740-540, PE, Brazil;Centro de Informática, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (CIn - UFPE), Cidade Universitária, Recife 50740-540, PE, Brazil
Venue:
Journal of Systems and Software
Year:
2012

Citing 16
Cited 1

A preliminary investigation of information systems team structures

Information and Management
Factors affecting software developers' performance: an integrated approach

MIS Quarterly
The effective use of automated application development tools

IBM Systems Journal
Peopleware (2nd ed.): productive projects and teams

Peopleware (2nd ed.): productive projects and teams
A confirmatory factor analysis of IS employee motivation and retention

Information and Management
Motivating and Managing Computer Personnel

Motivating and Managing Computer Personnel
Enabling Software Development Team Performance During Requirements Definition: a Behavioral Versus Technical Approach

Information Systems Research
Coordinating Expertise in Software Development Teams

Management Science
Motivation in Software Engineering: A systematic literature review

Information and Software Technology
What Do We Know about Developer Motivation?

IEEE Software
Models of motivation in software engineering

Information and Software Technology
A systematic review of theory use in studies investigating the motivations of software engineers

ACM Transactions on Software Engineering and Methodology (TOSEM)
An initial investigation of software practitioners' motivation

CHASE '09 Proceedings of the 2009 ICSE Workshop on Cooperative and Human Aspects on Software Engineering
Chief programmer team management of production programming

IBM Systems Journal
MIS project teams: an investigation of cognitive style implications

MIS Quarterly
Managing information systems personnel: a review of the literature and managerial implications

MIS Quarterly

Motivation in software engineering industrial practice: A cross-case analysis of two software organisations

Information and Software Technology

Quantified Score

Hi-index	0.00

Visualization

Abstract

Aim: In this article, factors influencing the motivation of software engineers is studied with the goal of guiding the definition of motivational programs. Method: Using a set of 20 motivational factors compiled in a systematic literature review and a general theory of motivation, a survey questionnaire was created to evaluate the influence of these factors on individual motivation. Then, the questionnaire was applied on a semi-random sample of 176 software engineers from 20 software companies located in Recife-PE, Brazil. Results: The survey results show the actual level of motivation for each motivator in the target population. Using principal component analysis on the values of all motivators, a five factor structure was identified and used to propose a guideline for the creation of motivational programs for software engineers. Conclusions: The five factor structure provides an intuitive categorization for the set of variables and can be used to explain other motivational models presented in the literature. This contributes to a better understanding of motivation in software engineering.