Digital Work in an Analog World
Improving Software Engineering Through Applied Psychology
ISBN 978-1466381520
Library of Congress Control Number: 2011917665
Table of Contents
PREFACE
PART I Lay of the Land
CHAPTER 1 Getting Started
- Why Psychology and Software Engineering?
- Research in Psychology
- The CPU (aka the Brain)
CHAPTER 2 Personality in Software Engineering
- Gathering Personality Data
- Personality-Situation Debate
- Optimism & Pessimism in Programming
- Trait Theories
- Personality Traits
- Personality Stability
- Personality Profile for Developers
CHAPTER 3 Major Issues in Software Engineering
- Software Estimation
- Planning Problems
- Project Extremes
- “Retractable” Medium
- Abstract Activity
- Unrealistic Expectations
PART II Psychological Factors in Software Engineering
CHAPTER 4 Rewards, Goals & Inhibitors
- Why Programmers Program
- Why People Do and Don’t Work (aka Motivation)
- Persistence
CHAPTER 5 Stress
- Types of Stress
- Causes of Stress
- Stress Relief
- Stress and Performance
CHAPTER 6 Cognitive Malware
- Understanding Cognitive Dissonance
- Cognitive Dissonance in Software Development
CHAPTER 7 Influence, Persuasion, & Social Pressure
- The Power of Others
- Winning Others Over
- Impacts of Social Influence
CHAPTER 8 Analog Intelligence
- Building a Balanced Software Professional
- Interpersonal Work Relationships
CHAPTER 9 Problem Solving, Decisions & Creativity
- Problem Solving vs. Creativity
- Creativity and Problem Solving Steps
- Problem Solving Problems
- Decision Making
PART III – People
CHAPTER 10 The Talent Pool
- Hiring
- Evaluating Performance
- Letting Staffers Go
CHAPTER 11 Teams
- Team Tendencies
- Team Performance
CHAPTER 12 Leadership
- Formal Leadership Theories
- Technical Leadership Qualities
- Leadership Don’ts
CHAPTER 13 Culture & Gender
- Cultural Impacts
- Mitigation Strategies
- Gender
