Understanding the Relationship of Conflict, Psychological safety, and Success in Software Development Projects
Resumo
Software development involves complex socio-technical activities with common conflicts arising from human and non-human factors. However, the impact of these conflicts, particularly non-human ones, on project success still needs to be investigated. Psychological safety is a key to mitigating these conflicts. In this paper, we aim to understand how conflicts and psychological safety impact the success of software development projects—considering the categorization of conflicts into human-rooted (HRC) and non-human-rooted (NHRC) and examining organization size, team size, and psychological safety as moderating factors. To achieve our goal, we replicated an existing study in the area and included new hypotheses; we also adapted the surveys to Portuguese, used a structured survey to collect data, and applied structural equation modeling for the analysis. The results include the reception of 155 responses and show that human-rooted conflict strongly negatively impacts software project success, regardless of organization or team size. Non-human-rooted conflict positively affects project success only in corporations (> 100 employees) but negatively impacts small and medium-sized organizations (< 100 employees). While not directly correlated with project success, psychological safety appears as a crucial moderating factor.
Palavras-chave:
Conflict, Software project success, Software development, Psychological Safety
Referências
Basirati, M. R., Otasevic, M., Rajavi, K., Böhm, M., and Krcmar, H. 2020. Understanding the relationship of conflict and success in software development projects. Information and Software Technology. 126, 106331.
Chen, H.-G., Jiang, J.J., Chen, J.-C., and Shim, J. 2004. The impacts of conflicts on requirements uncertainty and project performance. J. Int. Technol. Inf. Manag. 13, 3, 2.
Laurentiu, N. 2013. The Impact of Conflict on Software Development Projects. Procedia Economics and Finance. 3, 615-620.
Caputo, A., Kargina, M., and Pellegrini, M. M. 2023. Conflict in virtual teams: a bibliometric analysis, systematic review, and research agenda. International Journal of Conflict Management. 34, 1, 1-31.
De Wit, F. R., Greer, L. L., and Jehn, K. A. 2012. The paradox of intragroup conflict: a meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology. 97, 2, 360.
Jehn, K. A., and Bendersky, C. 2003. Intragroup conflict in organizations: A contingency perspective. Research in Organizational Behavior. 25, 189-244.
Li, J. T., & Hambrick, D. C. 2005. Factional groups: A new vantage on demographic faultlines, conflict, and disintegration in work teams. Academy of Management Journal, 485, 794 – 813.
Edmondson, A. 1999. Psychological safety and learning behavior in work teams. administrative science quarterly, 44(2), 350-383
Janis, Irving L. 1982 Groupthink, 2d ed. Boston:Houghton-Mifflin.
Argyris, Chris, and Donald Schon, 1978 Organizational Learning: A Theory of Action Perspective. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley
Al-Ghazali, B. M., & Afsar, B. 2021. Investigating the mechanism linking task conflict with employees’ innovative work behavior. International Journal of Conflict Management, 32 (4), 599-625.
Ika, L. A. 2009. Project success as a topic in project management journals. Project Management Journal, 40 (4), 6-19.
Tamburri, D. A., Palomba, F., & Kazman, R. 2020. Success and failure in software engineering: A follow-up systematic literature review. IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management.
Liu, J. Y.-C., Chen, H.-G., Chen, C. C., and Sheu, T. S. 2011. Relationships among interpersonal conflict, requirements uncertainty, and software project performance. International Journal of Project Management. 29, 5, 547-556.
Schepers, J. J. L., Nijssen, E. J., and van der Heijden, G. A. H. 2016. Innovation in the frontline: Exploring the relationship between role conflict, ideas for improvement, and employee service performance. International Journal of Research in Marketing.
Shameem, M., Chandra, B., Kumar, C., and Khan, A. A. 2018. Understanding the relationships between requirements uncertainty and nature of conflicts: a study of software development team effectiveness. Arabian Journal for Science and Engineering. 43, 8223-8238.
Moore, G. C., and Benbasat, I. 1991. Development of an instrument to measure the perceptions of adopting an information technology innovation. Inf. Syst. Res. 2, 192-222.
Hu, L.-t., and Bentler, P. M. 1999. Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal. 6, 1, 1-55.
Lai, K., and Green, S. B. 2016. The problem with having two watches: Assessment of fit when RMSEA and CFI disagree. Multivariate Behavioral Research. 51, 2-3, 220-239.
Rosseel, Y. 2012. lavaan: An R Package for Structural Equation Modeling. Journal of Statistical Software. 48, 2
Kakar, A. K. 2018. How do team conflicts impact knowledge sharing?. Knowledge Management Research & Practice, 16(1), 21-31.
Farias, W. 2024_ Conflitos em Times de Desenvolvimento de Software: Modelo e Instrumento de Mensuração com Análise baseada em Aprendizado de Máquina. Mater Thesis. Programa de Engenharia de Computação Universidade de Pernambuco, Brazil.
Chen, H.-G., Jiang, J.J., Chen, J.-C., and Shim, J. 2004. The impacts of conflicts on requirements uncertainty and project performance. J. Int. Technol. Inf. Manag. 13, 3, 2.
Laurentiu, N. 2013. The Impact of Conflict on Software Development Projects. Procedia Economics and Finance. 3, 615-620.
Caputo, A., Kargina, M., and Pellegrini, M. M. 2023. Conflict in virtual teams: a bibliometric analysis, systematic review, and research agenda. International Journal of Conflict Management. 34, 1, 1-31.
De Wit, F. R., Greer, L. L., and Jehn, K. A. 2012. The paradox of intragroup conflict: a meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology. 97, 2, 360.
Jehn, K. A., and Bendersky, C. 2003. Intragroup conflict in organizations: A contingency perspective. Research in Organizational Behavior. 25, 189-244.
Li, J. T., & Hambrick, D. C. 2005. Factional groups: A new vantage on demographic faultlines, conflict, and disintegration in work teams. Academy of Management Journal, 485, 794 – 813.
Edmondson, A. 1999. Psychological safety and learning behavior in work teams. administrative science quarterly, 44(2), 350-383
Janis, Irving L. 1982 Groupthink, 2d ed. Boston:Houghton-Mifflin.
Argyris, Chris, and Donald Schon, 1978 Organizational Learning: A Theory of Action Perspective. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley
Al-Ghazali, B. M., & Afsar, B. 2021. Investigating the mechanism linking task conflict with employees’ innovative work behavior. International Journal of Conflict Management, 32 (4), 599-625.
Ika, L. A. 2009. Project success as a topic in project management journals. Project Management Journal, 40 (4), 6-19.
Tamburri, D. A., Palomba, F., & Kazman, R. 2020. Success and failure in software engineering: A follow-up systematic literature review. IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management.
Liu, J. Y.-C., Chen, H.-G., Chen, C. C., and Sheu, T. S. 2011. Relationships among interpersonal conflict, requirements uncertainty, and software project performance. International Journal of Project Management. 29, 5, 547-556.
Schepers, J. J. L., Nijssen, E. J., and van der Heijden, G. A. H. 2016. Innovation in the frontline: Exploring the relationship between role conflict, ideas for improvement, and employee service performance. International Journal of Research in Marketing.
Shameem, M., Chandra, B., Kumar, C., and Khan, A. A. 2018. Understanding the relationships between requirements uncertainty and nature of conflicts: a study of software development team effectiveness. Arabian Journal for Science and Engineering. 43, 8223-8238.
Moore, G. C., and Benbasat, I. 1991. Development of an instrument to measure the perceptions of adopting an information technology innovation. Inf. Syst. Res. 2, 192-222.
Hu, L.-t., and Bentler, P. M. 1999. Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal. 6, 1, 1-55.
Lai, K., and Green, S. B. 2016. The problem with having two watches: Assessment of fit when RMSEA and CFI disagree. Multivariate Behavioral Research. 51, 2-3, 220-239.
Rosseel, Y. 2012. lavaan: An R Package for Structural Equation Modeling. Journal of Statistical Software. 48, 2
Kakar, A. K. 2018. How do team conflicts impact knowledge sharing?. Knowledge Management Research & Practice, 16(1), 21-31.
Farias, W. 2024_ Conflitos em Times de Desenvolvimento de Software: Modelo e Instrumento de Mensuração com Análise baseada em Aprendizado de Máquina. Mater Thesis. Programa de Engenharia de Computação Universidade de Pernambuco, Brazil.
Publicado
30/09/2024
Como Citar
FARIAS, Wladimir; SILVA, Brenda; LENCASTRE, Maria; FAGUNDES, Roberta.
Understanding the Relationship of Conflict, Psychological safety, and Success in Software Development Projects. In: SIMPÓSIO BRASILEIRO DE ENGENHARIA DE SOFTWARE (SBES), 38. , 2024, Curitiba/PR.
Anais [...].
Porto Alegre: Sociedade Brasileira de Computação,
2024
.
p. 665-671.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5753/sbes.2024.3607.
