A1 Journal article (refereed)
Work‐from‐home impacts on software project : A global study on software development practices and stakeholder perceptions (2024)
Nguyen‐Duc, A., Khanna, D., Le Giang, H., Greer, D., Wang, X., Martinez, Z. L., Matturro, G., Melegati, J., Guerra, E., Kettunen, P., Hyrynsalmi, S., Edison, H., Sales, A., Chanin, R., Rutitis, D., Kemell, K., Aldaeej, A., Mikkonen, T., Garbajosa, J., & Abrahamsson, P. (2024). Work‐from‐home impacts on software project : A global study on software development practices and stakeholder perceptions. Software : Practice and Experience, 54(5), 896-926. https://doi.org/10.1002/spe.3306
JYU authors or editors
Publication details
All authors or editors: Nguyen‐Duc, Anh; Khanna, Dron; Le Giang, Huong; Greer, Des; Wang, Xiaofeng; Martinez, Zaina Luciana; Matturro, Gerardo; Melegati, Jorge; Guerra, Eduardo; Kettunen, Petri; et al.
Journal or series: Software : Practice and Experience
ISSN: 0038-0644
eISSN: 1097-024X
Publication year: 2024
Publication date: 27/12/2023
Volume: 54
Issue number: 5
Pages range: 896-926
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Publication country: United Kingdom
Publication language: English
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/spe.3306
Publication open access: Openly available
Publication channel open access: Partially open access channel
Publication is parallel published (JYX): https://jyx.jyu.fi/handle/123456789/92759
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a disruptive impact on how people work and collaborate across all global economic sectors, including software business. While remote working is not new for software engineers, forced WFH situations come with both limitations and opportunities. As the ‘new normal’ for working might be based on the current state of Work-from-home (WFH), it is useful to understand what has happened and learn from that.
Objective
This study aims to gain insights into how their WFH arrangement impacts project management and software engineering. We are also interested in exploring these impacts in different contexts, such as startups and established companies.
Method
We conducted a global-scale, cross-sectional survey during the spring and summer 2021. Our results are based on quantitative and qualitative analysis of 297 valid responses.
Results
We characterize the profile of WFH in both spatial and temporal aspects, together with a set of common collaborative tools and coordination and control mechanisms. We revealed some areas of project management that are relatively more challenging during WFH situations, such as coordination, communication and project planning. We also revealed a mixed picture of the perceived impact of WFH on different software engineering activities.
Conclusion
WFH is a situational phenomenon which can have both negative and positive impact on software teams. For practitioners, we suggest a unified approach to consider the context of WFH, collaborative tools, associated coordination and control approaches and a process that resolve those aspects that are sensitive to physical interaction.
Keywords: COVID-19; empirical research; project management; software engineering
Free keywords: COVID-19; empirical study; project management; software engineering; work-from-home
Contributing organizations
Ministry reporting: Yes
VIRTA submission year: 2023
JUFO rating: 2
