Motivation in Software Engineering: A systematic literature review

Objective: In this paper, we present a systematic literature review of motivation in Software Engineering. The objective of this review is to plot the landscape of current reported knowledge in terms of what motivates developers, what de-motivates them and how existing models address motivation. Methods: We perform a systematic literature review of peer reviewed published studies that focus on motivation in Software Engineering. Systematic reviews are well established in medical research and are used to systematically analyse the literature addressing specific research questions. Results: We found 92 papers related to motivation in Software Engineering. Fifty-six percent of the studies reported that Software Engineers are distinguishable from other occupational groups. Our findings suggest that Software Engineers are likely to be motivated according to three related factors: their `characteristics' (for example, their need for variety); internal `controls' (for example, thei...

• Type: Journal
• Year: 2008
• Where: INFSOF
• Authors: Sarah Beecham, Nathan Baddoo, Tracy Hall, Hugh Robinson, Helen Sharp
• Keywords: INFSOF 2008, Motivation, Software Engineering, Systematic Literature Review