Soft Sides of Software
This is an incremental call to action for software engineering researchers to study psychological factors affecting professionals.
The paper addresses the neglect of lifelong learning and psychological aspects in software engineering, arguing that organizations focusing on current project success overlook capacity building, and calls for more research into software psychology to enhance effectiveness and fulfillment.
Software is a field of rapid changes: the best technology today becomes obsolete in the near future. If we review the graduate attributes of any of the software engineering programs across the world, life-long learning is one of them. The social and psychological aspects of professional development is linked with rewards. In organizations, where people are provided with learning opportunities and there is a culture that rewards learning, people embrace changes easily. However, the software industry tends to be short-sighted and its primary focus is more on current project success; it usually ignores the capacity building of the individual or team. It is hoped that our software engineering colleagues will be motivated to conduct more research into the area of software psychology so as to understand more completely the possibilities for increased effectiveness and personal fulfillment among software engineers working alone and in teams.