Simulation of Software Development Team Productivity Incorporating Social and Human Factors: A System Dynamics Model

Managing software development work teams requires planning resources and activities to complete projects and deliver products satisfactorily and successfully. Estimating project time is part of the planning stage and is mainly conducted using methods based on technical factors. However, since software development is a process involving people with high levels of interaction, it is necessary to consider non-technical factors in project management. This paper presents a simulation model to support informed decision-making during planning, considering that non-technical factors, specifically social and human factors (SHF), can affect product delivery time. From a systems perspective, software development is a complex system. Therefore, System Dynamics (SD) modeling based on the rework cycle archetype is used. The resulting model allows for analyzing the productivity of software development teams, integrating three key SHF: communication, leadership, and teamwork. The generated burndown charts are used to demonstrate that the model constitutes a basal structure oriented to understand the productivity behavior of work teams. By taking a systemic approach, the model introduces new ways to identify dynamic behaviors and facilitates the prediction of possible scenarios in the evolution of tasks, which helps work teams manage their risks. Additionally, leadership strategies in accordance with the team’s status and a good perception of communication can reduce rework and improve the ability to deliver software products on time. To the best of our knowledge, the literature reported on approaches that holistically integrate these elements is limited, which makes this proposal a significant contribution to the discipline.