Software Quality as Influenced by Informational Diversity, Task Conflict, and Learning in Project Teams

    Authors

    T. P. Liang; J. Jiang; G. S. Klein;J. Y. C. Liu

    Comments

    Authors: contact us about adding a copy of your work at [email protected]

    Abbreviated Journal Title

    IEEE Trans. Eng. Manage.

    Keywords

    Informational diversity; learning; project management; project teams; relationship conflict; software development; task conflict; TOP MANAGEMENT TEAMS; ORGANIZATIONAL GROUPS; WORK TEAMS; PERFORMANCE; DEMOGRAPHY; KNOWLEDGE; DESIGN; MODEL; Business; Engineering, Industrial; Management

    Abstract

    From one perspective, diversity leads to an increase in the knowledge and viewpoints that adds to the creativity of the solution and methods during a software development project. From another perspective, diversity adds to the conflict in a project team, which detracts significantly from the desired results. This contradiction may be best explained by an examination of different forms of diversity. This study reports a model that considers informational diversity, in the form of a larger variety of background knowledge, in the system development context. Learning and information theories dictate that conflict related to the completion of tasks will increase under informational diversity. Task-related conflict should, in turn, create learning opportunities, which will provide the spark needed to improve the quality of the software generated by a project team. A team level analysis of survey data from 299 members of 75 development teams confirms these relationships. The promotion of learning leverages the benefits of informational diversity and serves as a mediator between task-related conflict and software quality.

    Journal Title

    Ieee Transactions on Engineering Management

    Volume

    57

    Issue/Number

    3

    Publication Date

    1-1-2010

    Document Type

    Article

    Language

    English

    First Page

    477

    Last Page

    487

    WOS Identifier

    WOS:000282543900010

    ISSN

    0018-9391

    Share

    COinS
     

    Accessibility Statement

    This item was created or digitized prior to April 24, 2027, or is a reproduction of legacy media created before that date. It is preserved in its original, unmodified state specifically for research, reference, or historical recordkeeping. In accordance with the ADA Title II Final Rule, the University Libraries provides accessible versions of archival materials upon request. To request an accommodation for this item, please submit an accessibility request form.