Software Project Management
Fifth Edition
Chapter 11
Managing people in
software
environments
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Main topics
• What is organizational behaviour?
• Staff selection and induction
• Models of motivation – focus on the individual
• The dark side of motivation - stress
• The broader issues of health and safety
• Some ethical and professional concerns
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Before organizational behaviour
• Frederick Taylor (1856-1915) ‘the father of scientific
management’
• Focus:
• To select the best people for the job;
• To instruct them in the best methods;
• To give financial incentives in the form of piece
work
• One problem: ‘group norms’
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Hawthorne effect
• 1920’s – series of experiments at the Hawthorne
Plant of Western Electric, Chicago
• Found that simply showing an interest in a group
increased productivity
• Theory X: there is a need for coercion, direction, and
control of people at work
• Theory Y: work is as natural as rest or play
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Selecting the best people
• Belbin distinguishes between eligible (having the
right qualifications) and suitable candidates (can do
the job).
• The danger is employ someone who is eligible but
not suitable
• The best situation is to employ someone who is
suitable but not eligible! For example, these are likely
to be cheaper and to stay in the job.
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Do good software developers have
innate characteristics?
• 1968 study – difference of 1:25 in time taken by
different programmers to code program
• Other research found experience better than maths
skills as a guide to software skills
• Some research suggested software developers less
sociable than other workers
• Later surveys have found no significant social
differences between IT workers and others – this
could be result of broader role of IT in organizations
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A selection process
1. Create a job specification.
Content includes types of task to be carried out.
2. Create a job holder profile
Describes the characteristics of the person who
could do the job
3. Obtain applicants
Identify the media that potential job holders are likely
to consult. Elicit CVs
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A selection process - continued
4. Select potential candidates from CVs.
Do not waste everybody’s time interviewing people whose CV
clearly indicates are unsuitable.
5. Further selection, including interview
Selection processes could include aptitude tests, examination
of work portfolios. Make sure selection processes map to the
job holder profile
6. Other procedures.
e.g. taking up references, medicals etc
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Instruction in the best methods
• The induction of new staff should be carefully planned – worst
case where new recruit is simply ignored and not given any
tasks
• Good induction leads to new recruit becoming productive more
quickly
• Need to review staff progress frequently and provide feedback
• Need to identify training that could enhance staff effectiveness.
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Motivation
• Motivation and application can often make up for
shortfalls in innate skills
• Taylor’s approach - financial incentives
• Abraham Maslow (1908-1970)
• motivations vary from individual to individual
• hierarchy of needs – as lower ones fulfilled, higher
ones emerge
• Lowest level – food, shelter
• Highest level – self-actualization
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Herzberg
Herzberg suggested two sets of factors affected job
satisfaction
1. Hygiene or maintenance factors – make you
dissatisfied if they are not right e.g. pay, working
conditions
2. Motivators – make you feel the job is worthwhile e.g.
a sense of achievement
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Vroom
Vroom and colleagues identified three influences on
motivation
1. Expectancy – the belief that working harder leads to
better performance
2. Instrumentality – the belief that better performance
will be rewarded
3. Perceived value of the reward
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Oldham-Hackman job characteristics
Identified the following characteristics of a job which
make it more ‘meaningful’
• Skill variety
• Task identity
• Task significance
Two other factors contributed to satisfaction:
• Autonomy
• Feedback
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Methods to improve job satisfaction
• Set specific goals
• Provide feedback on the progress towards meeting
those goals
• Consider job redesign
• Job enlargement
• Job enrichment
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Stress
• Edward Yourdon quotes a project manager: ‘Once a
project gets rolling, you should be expecting
members to be putting in at least 60 hours a
week….The project manager must expect to put in as
many hours as possible.’
• 1960 study in US: people under 45 who worked more
than 48 hours a week twice the risk of death from
coronary heart disease.
• XP practice – maximum 40 hour working week
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Stress can be reduced by good project
management
Good project management should lead to:
• Reasonable estimates of effort
• Good project control leading fewer unexpected crises
• Making clear what is expected of each team member –
reduces role ambiguity
• Reduced role conflict where a person is torn between
conflicting responsibilities
Bullying tactics are a symptom of incompetent project
management.
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Health and safety
• Apart from stress, health and safety less likely to be an
issue compared to other engineering projects.
• …but sometimes IT infrastructure may be set up as other
building work is going on
• UK law lays down that organizations employing over 5
staff should have a written safety policy
• Management of safety should be embedded in project
management.
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Health and safety - continued
• Top management must be committed to health and
safety (H&S) policy
• Delegation of responsibilities relating to H&S should
be clear
• Job descriptions should include H&S related
responsibilities
• Need to ensure those given H&S responsibilities
should understand and accept them
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Health and safety - continued
• There should be a designated safety officer
• Staff, particularly knowledgeable technical specialists,
should consulted about safety
• There should be an adequate H&S budget
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Ethical and professional concerns
Ethics relates to the moral obligation to respect the
rights and interests of others – goes beyond strictly
legal responsibilities
Three groups of responsibilities:
• Responsibilities that everyone has
• Responsibilities that people in organizations have
• Responsibilities relating to your profession or calling
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Organizational ethics
There are some who argue that ethical organizational ethics are limited:
Stockholder theory (e.g. Milton Friedman). An employee’s duty is to
the owners of the business (which often means the stakeholders)
above all others – although legal requirements must be met.
Competitive relationships between businesses. Competition may
cause you to do things that could have a negative impact on the
owners or employees of competitive businesses
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Exercise
Identify some of the possible objections and criticisms
that can be made of the stockholder business ethics
model described above.
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Professional ethics
• Professionals have knowledge about the technical domain that
the general public does not
• Ethical duty of the expert to warn lay people of the risks involved
in a particular course of action
• Many professions, or would be professions, have codes of
conduct for their members e.g.
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