How personality diversity influences team performance in student software engineering teams

Developing software is a team project that does not only rest on technologies and methodologies used, human aspects also play a pivotal role in the success of team projects. We investigate the impact of personality diversity on the success of short-lived student teams who develop software. We define a measurement of personality diversity in terms of personality types using the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) personality dimensions. We observe the ratios of students in our cohort belonging to each of the four personality dimensions. Team success is measured in terms of team synergy and the quality of the end product. We hypothesise that diversity in a team is positively correlated with team synergy and the quality of their deliverable. We discuss the factors that may have contributed to our failure to confirm our hypotheses.