Reducing work related uncertainty: the role of communication and control in software development

Author

Guinan, Patricia J. ; Faraj, Samer

Author_Institution

Babson Coll., Babson Park, MA, USA

Volume

6

fYear

1998

fDate

6-9 Jan 1998

Firstpage

73

Abstract

Applies an “organizational theories” lens to the general problems incurred when organizations undertake unclear, poorly specified technical projects for which there are no easy solutions. In an empirical study of 57 software development teams, we investigate the impact of team member communication and team control strategies on the role and task ambiguity experienced by team members. The results indicate that stakeholder rating of team performance is associated with decreased levels of role and task ambiguity. This finding goes beyond previous studies by showing the mediating impact of role and task ambiguity on the relationship between team performance on the one hand, and team communication and control strategies on the other

Keywords

human resource management; software development management; mediating impact; organizational theories; poorly specified technical projects; role ambiguity; software development teams; stakeholder rating; task ambiguity; team control strategies; team member communication strategies; team performance; work-related uncertainty reduction; Airports; Business communication; Communication effectiveness; Communication system control; Costs; Educational institutions; Lenses; Programming; Software systems; Uncertainty;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

System Sciences, 1998., Proceedings of the Thirty-First Hawaii International Conference on

Conference_Location

Kohala Coast, HI

Print_ISBN

0-8186-8255-8

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/HICSS.1998.654761

Filename

654761