Case Study 2: Improving satisfaction in diverse software teams by introducing brainstorming techniques.
Process
We did over 60 remote and face-to-face interviews, conducted 9 post-event surveys, and over 80 hours of in situ observations of teams working together at software development events called hackathons, codefests, and sprints.
We did over 60 remote and face-to-face interviews, conducted 9 post-event surveys, and over 80 hours of in situ observations of teams working together at software development events called hackathons, codefests, and sprints.
I initiated development of our event survey, and conducted 23 hours of in-person observations at 3 of 9 events. I managed a repository of our survey questions organized by event, while simultaneously maintaining their consistency to ensure that responses could be comparable across events. In team meetings I answered questions from my manager and other researchers about data formatting and the meaning of key variables. In parallel, I mentored a junior researcher on the team in qualitative coding and affinity diagraming. Nearing a project deadline, I resolved a conflict over paper authorship attribution with one of our external collaborators.
Results
The analysis resulted in a research publication showing people who used brainstorming in their teams were more satisfied with their team’s process and their outcome. The effect was strongest for people who self-identified as minorities, suggesting that brainstorming techniques can be particularly helpful when bringing together people with different job roles, skillsets, and backgrounds.
I co-organized a 1-day workshop to disseminate our findings to about 30 researchers and event organizers. Feedback was favorable, with substantial interest in holding a follow-up event.
The analysis resulted in a research publication showing people who used brainstorming in their teams were more satisfied with their team’s process and their outcome. The effect was strongest for people who self-identified as minorities, suggesting that brainstorming techniques can be particularly helpful when bringing together people with different job roles, skillsets, and backgrounds.
I co-organized a 1-day workshop to disseminate our findings to about 30 researchers and event organizers. Feedback was favorable, with substantial interest in holding a follow-up event.