Putting it together...bit by bit: A relational theory of interpersonal collaboration in software development.

Abstract

Interpersonal collaboration is a joint, interdependent effort to accomplish tasks that are larger than any one person has the resources or knowledge to do. To better understand how collaborators encourage each other to contribute to their joint work, this research develops a relational theory of collaboration through an inductive field study of paired programmers using the Extreme Programming (XP) methodology of software development. The focus of this study is encouraging moves---sets of behaviors that are intended to elicit a contribution from another person. I identify fourteen specific encouraging moves that fall into six descriptive categories: supplying, gathering, complying, optimizing, equalizing, and refraining moves. However, even within a single organizational context, what is considered to be an encouraging move is consistent neither across individuals nor within collaborating pairs. Instead, people make rapid, often intuitive, interpretations of a move to determine whether the move would be or was intended to be encouraging. People are more likely to successfully interpret each other's intentions and potential responses when one or both collaborators draw on what I call situational resources---bits and pieces of understanding about their work relationships that help to provide a context for their moves. Situational resources are developed in two ways. Through attentiveness, an individual develops an understanding of the qualities of the pair, and through socialization, a person grows to understand the culture of the organization. Thus, by developing and applying their situational resources and by paying attention to the feelings and thoughts evoked by the moves, collaborators can effectively encourage their partners to contribute their insights and abilities to their shared task. This study contributes to research on collaboration, helping and related forms of social support, and work relationships. This theory suggests that people who work together encourage each other in specific ways that reflect how their interaction is mutual, situated, and ongoing. Contrary to prior research, the help and support provided during collaborative work is not a one-sided effort to make up for another's deficiencies; rather it supports both collaborators' goals and reflects their shared history and anticipated future.