Assessing Personality Profiles of Software Developers in Agile Development Teams

Agile methodologies are changing the way we develop software. Their emphasis on teamoriented development, joint code ownership, and reliance on people rather than predefined processes to guide activities, is transforming software development into a socio-technical process. As methodologies become increasingly more people and team-oriented, there is an urgent need to investigate the personality profiles of software developers and their likely impact on the productivity of the development team. A review of the IS research literature on personality studies found Jungian typology operationalized as Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) to be the most popular approach for assessing personality profiles. We compared the Five Factor Model (FFM) of personality, which is currently gaining popularity among personality psychologists, with MBTI. Our analysis, based on extant research literature in personality psychology and group behavior, suggests that FFM not only provides better measures for all factors that are measured by MBTI, but it also allows us to assess Neuroticism, an important personality trait that is of interest to researchers studying work groups, such as the agile development team. Our finding has important implications for researchers studying the agile development process. It is also highly relevant to studies investigating the personality profiles of IS professionals. Thus, our study attempts to bring in fresh insights from Personality Psychology, our reference discipline, to enrich IS research.

[1]  Earl Chrysler,et al.  Some basic determinants of computer programming productivity , 1978, CACM.

[2]  Leigh Susan Kichuk.  The Effect of General Cognitive Ability, Teamwork KSA's, and The "Big Five" Personality Factors on the Performance of Engineering Design Teams: Implications for the Selection of Teams , 1996 .

[3]  B. De Raad,et al.  The Five-Factor Personality Inventory (FFPI) , 1999 .

[4]  Susan L. Kichuk,et al.  Work teams: Selecting members for optimal performance. , 1998 .

[5]  Jeff Moad.  Psych tests for MIS staff: is this nuts? , 1994 .

[6]  Izak Benbasat,et al.  The Impact of Cognitive Styles on Information System Design , 1978, MIS Q..

[7]  A. Furnham.  The big five versus the big four: the relationship between the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and NEO-PI five factor model of personality , 1996 .

[8]  Izak Benbasat,et al.  Programmer and Analyst Time/Cost Estimation , 1980, MIS Q..

[9]  Monica J. Garfield,et al.  Managing conflict in software testing , 2004, CACM.

[10]  Conceptualization and Measurement of Argumentativeness: A Decade Later , 1995 .

[11]  Mark G. Simkin,et al.  What best predicts computer proficiency? , 1989, CACM.

[12]  Bernhard Rumpe,et al.  Assumptions Underlying Agile Software-Development Processes , 2005, J. Database Manag..

[13]  H. P. Sims,et al.  Top Management Team Demography and Process: The Role of Social Integration and Communication , 1994 .

[14]  P. Costa,et al.  Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R) and NEO-Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI) , 1992 .

[15]  Ad de Jong,et al.  Antecedents and Consequences of Group Potency: A Study of Self-Managing Service Teams , 2005, Manag. Sci..

[16]  Joy Teague,et al.  Personality type, career preference and implications for computer science recruitment and teaching , 1998, ACSE '98.

[17]  Diane B. Walz,et al.  Identifying Exceptional Application Software Developers: A Comparison of Students and Professionals , 2003, Commun. Assoc. Inf. Syst..

[18]  Keng Siau,et al.  Agile Modeling, Agile Software Development, and Extreme Programming: The State of Research , 2005, J. Database Manag..

[19]  R. Zmud.  INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES AND MIS SUCCESS: A REVIEW OF THE EMPIRICAL LITERATURE* , 1979 .

[20]  Douglas N. Jackson,et al.  Nonverbal assessment of the Big Five personality factors , 2001 .

[21]  Kenneth J. Trimmer,et al.  The Impact of Personality Diversity on Conflict in ISD Teams , 2002, J. Comput. Inf. Syst..

[22]  R. Volkema.  The Influence of Cognitive-based Group Composition on Decision-making Process and Outcome , 1998 .

[23]  Robert P. Bostrom,et al.  Personality differences within systems project teams: Implications for designing solving centers , 1981, SIGCPR '81.

[24]  Rebecca H. Rutherfoord.  Using personality inventories to help form teams for software engineering class projects , 2001, ITiCSE '01.

[25]  A. Cockburn,et al.  Agile Software Development: The People Factor , 2001, Computer.

[26]  Luiz Fernando Capretz.  Personality types in software engineering , 2003, Int. J. Hum. Comput. Stud..

[27]  Kathy Brittain White,et al.  A preliminary investigation of information systems team structures , 1984, Inf. Manag..

[28]  Jo Ellen Moore,et al.  Personality characteristics of information systems professionals , 1991, SIGCPR '91.

[29]  Alan R. Hevner,et al.  Conflict in collaborative software development , 2003, SIGMIS CPR '03.

[30]  D. Vinokur-Kaplan,et al.  Treatment Teams that Work (and those that don't): An Application of Hackman's Group Effectiveness Model to Interdisciplinary Teams in Psychiatric Hospitals , 1995 .

[31]  E. Salas,et al.  Personality and group performance. , 1987 .

[32]  Kent L. Beck,et al.  Embracing Change with Extreme Programming , 1999, Computer.

[33]  I. B. Myers.  Manual: A Guide to the Development and Use of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator , 1985 .

[34]  C. A. Higgins,et al.  THE BIG FIVE PERSONALITY TRAITS, GENERAL MENTAL ABILITY, AND CAREER SUCCESS ACROSS THE LIFE SPAN , 1999 .

[35]  J. M. Digman.  PERSONALITY STRUCTURE: EMERGENCE OF THE FIVE-FACTOR MODEL , 1990 .

[36]  D. C. Smith.  The personality of the systems analyst: an investigation , 1989, CPRS.

[37]  Ronald H. Rasch,et al.  Factors Affecting Software Developers' Performance: An Integrated Approach , 1992, MIS Q..

[38]  D. Day,et al.  Personality and job performance: Evidence of incremental validity. , 1989 .

[39]  M. Petty,et al.  Team-Member Exchange Under Team and Traditional Management , 1995 .

[40]  P. Costa,et al.  Reinterpreting the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator from the perspective of the five-factor model of personality. , 1989, Journal of personality.

[41]  Annelies E. M. Van Vianen,et al.  Personality in teams: Its relationship to social cohesion, task cohesion, and team performance , 2001 .

[42]  Albert L. Lederer,et al.  Validation of a Jungian instrument for MIS research , 1988, CPRS.

[43]  B. De Raad,et al.  The Five-Factor Personality Inventory , 2011 .

[44]  M. Bond,et al.  The Confucius connection: From cultural roots to economic growth , 1988 .

[45]  Personal Style Inventory Item Revision : Confirmatory Factor Analysis , 2000 .

[46]  Stephen H. Wagner,et al.  The Relationship between Work-Team Personality Composition and the Job Performance of Teams , 1999 .

[47]  Agile Manifesto,et al.  Manifesto for Agile Software Development , 2001 .

[48]  Lawrence T. Hardiman.  Personality Types And Software Engineers , 1997, Computer.

[49]  Marilyn E. Gist,et al.  Organizational Behavior: Group Structure, Process, and Effectiveness , 1987 .

[50]  Robert P. Bostrom,et al.  Personality Characteristics of MIS Project Teams: An Empirical Study and Action-Research Design , 1982, MIS Q..

[51]  Susan L. Kichuk,et al.  The big five personality factors and team performance: implications for selecting successful product design teams , 1997 .

[52]  Terry L. Boles,et al.  The role of personality in task and relationship conflict. , 2002, Journal of personality.

[53]  M. L. Bariff,et al.  Cognitive and Personality Tests for the Design of Management Information Systems , 1977 .

[54]  P. Costa,et al.  Four ways five factors are basic , 1992 .

[55]  George Mangalaraj,et al.  Challenges of migrating to agile methodologies , 2005, CACM.

[56]  G. Neuman,et al.  Team effectiveness: beyond skills and cognitive ability. , 1999, The Journal of applied psychology.

[57]  J. Hackman,et al.  Group tasks, group interaction process, and group performance effectiveness: A review and proposed integration , 1975 .

[58]  Murray R. Barrick,et al.  Five-Factor Model of personality and Performance in Jobs Involving Interpersonal Interactions , 1998 .

[59]  Peg Thoms,et al.  The relationship between self‐efficacy for participating in self‐managed work groups and the big five personality dimensions , 1996 .

[60]  R. Harvey,et al.  Bimodal Score Distributions and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator: Fact or Artifact? , 2002, Journal of personality assessment.

[61]  Kathy Brittain White,et al.  MIS Project Teams: An Investigation of Cognitive Style Implications , 1984, MIS Q..

[62]  Murray R. Barrick,et al.  Relating member ability and personality to work-team processes and team effectiveness. , 1998 .

[63]  Ian I. Mitroff,et al.  A Program for Research on Management Information Systems , 1973 .

[64]  D. Jackson,et al.  PERSONALITY MEASURES AS PREDICTORS OF JOB PERFORMANCE: A META‐ANALYTIC REVIEW , 2006 .

[65]  J. E. Sammet,et al.  Software psychology: human factors in computer and information systems , 1983, SGCH.

[66]  David B. Mayer,et al.  Selection and evaluation of computer personnel- the research history of SIG/CPR , 1968, ACM National Conference.

[67]  R. McCrae,et al.  An introduction to the five-factor model and its applications. , 1992, Journal of personality.

[68]  Pat Barnes,et al.  Programmer paranoia revisited , 1975, SIGCPR '75.

[69]  Christopher O. L. H. Porter,et al.  Goal orientation: effects on backing up behavior, performance, efficacy, and commitment in teams. , 2005, The Journal of applied psychology.

[70]  J. E. Blanton,et al.  From Telemedicine to E-Health: Uncovering New Frontiers of Biomedical Research, Clinical Applications & Public Health Services Delivery , 2002 .

[71]  Michael Lyons.  The DP psyche , 1985 .

[72]  G. Stewart,et al.  Composition, process, and performance in self-managed groups: the role of personality. , 1997, The Journal of applied psychology.

[73]  Scott W. Ambler,et al.  The Object Primer: Agile Model-Driven Development with UML 2.0 , 2004 .

[74]  Alistair Cockburn,et al.  Agile Software Development: The Business of Innovation , 2001, Computer.

[75]  R. Hogan.  Personality and personality measurement. , 1991 .

[76]  Daniel Robey,et al.  A Social Process Model of User-Analyst Relationships , 1992, MIS Q..

[77]  C. M. Bush,et al.  In search of the perfect programmer , 1985 .

[78]  S. Zaccaro.  Nonequivalent Associations Between Forms of Cohesiveness and Group-Related Outcomes: Evidence for Multidimensionality , 1991 .

[79]  Linda C. Angell,et al.  Personality Heterogeneity in Teams , 2003 .

[80]  Murray R. Barrick,et al.  THE BIG FIVE PERSONALITY DIMENSIONS AND JOB PERFORMANCE: A META-ANALYSIS , 1991 .