The impact of staff turnover on software projects: The importance of understanding what makes software practitioners tick

Tracy Hall, Sarah Beecham, June Verner, David Wilson

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

Abstract

In this paper we investigate the impact of staff turnover on software projects. In particular we investigate whether high staff turnover damages project success. We analyse data from an empirical study of 89 software practitioners to show that projects with high staff turnover are less successful. Furthermore our empirical data suggests a relationship between high staff turnover on projects and low staff motivation levels. We discuss factors which have been previously found to improve motivation levels and conclude that improving motivation levels can reduce staff turnover, which in turn increases project success.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationSIGMIS CPR 2008 - Proceedings of the 2008 ACM SIGMIS CPR Conference
Subtitle of host publicationRefilling the Pipeline: Meeting the Renewed Demand for Information Technology Workers
Pages30-39
Number of pages10
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2008
Externally publishedYes
Event2008 ACM SIGMIS CPR Conference: Refilling the Pipeline: Meeting the Renewed Demand for Information Technology Workers, SIGMIS CPR 2008 - Charlottesville, VA, United States
Duration: 3 Apr 20085 Apr 2008

Publication series

NameSIGMIS CPR 2008 - Proceedings of the 2008 ACM SIGMIS CPR Conference: Refilling the Pipeline: Meeting the Renewed Demand for Information Technology Workers

Conference

Conference2008 ACM SIGMIS CPR Conference: Refilling the Pipeline: Meeting the Renewed Demand for Information Technology Workers, SIGMIS CPR 2008
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityCharlottesville, VA
Period3/04/085/04/08

Keywords

  • Motivation
  • Project success
  • Staff turnover

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