Most software development is a team effort in which human interactions are essential for an effective development process. However, these interactions can sometimes be imperfect, which makes progress difficult. In this project, we are studying undesired collective development patterns that are associated with increased development costs or risks for a project. We’re doing this by holding interviews and conducting surveys with engineers working in IT.

The expected results of the project include:

• A list of undesirable collective development patterns that the engineers encounter in practice, with estimations of their significance and incidence.
• A classification of these undesirable patterns according to their causes, effects, and potential to automate how they are identified and/or addressed.
• A list of tool ideas that could help engineers manage these undesirable patterns and reduce the associated risks.

The results of this project will help us better understand which types of problems in collective development are the most impactful and what tools can be used or created to alleviate them.