Abstract:
Traditionally, empirical research in software development roles has primarily focused on profiling candidates according to their professional competencies. In contrast, recent studies focus on understanding the relationship between the candidates´ personality traits and their disposition towards the tasks framed within their target professional roles. In that same vein, in this study, the authors aim to identify individual motivations among software practitioners to determine how specific motivational engines may relate to roles, specifically in software development using McClelland’s motivational theories. While doing so, this study seeks to complement previous discoveries connecting software roles and Myers-Briggs Type Indicators profiling. McClelland’s theories state that every individual has one main driving motivator (achievement, affiliation, or power), which people develop through their lived experiences and culture. Our results highlight a prevailing motivation for "Achievement" among the participants, and the distinctiveness of those who perform as project leaders, whose second predominant motivation is towards "Power".
PPIG 2021 - 32nd Annual Workshop
A study of McClelland's Motivations in Relation to software practitioners