The Influence of HEXACO Personality Traits on the Teamwork Quality in Software Teams -- A Preliminary Research Approach
For software engineering teams, this provides initial evidence that personality traits influence teamwork quality, suggesting potential interventions for improving team dynamics.
This paper investigates the impact of HEXACO personality traits on Teamwork Quality (TWQ) in software teams. A preliminary study (n=54) found that several personality traits and their composition significantly affect TWQ, along with factors like gender and age distribution.
Although software engineering research has focused on optimizing processes and technology, there is a growing recognition that human factors, particularly teamwork, also significantly impact optimization. Recent research suggests that developer personality has a strong influence on teamwork. In fact, personality considerations may have a greater impact on software development than processes and tools. This paper aims to design a study that measures the impact of HEXACO personality traits on the Teamwork Quality (TWQ) of software teams. A preliminary data collection (n=54) was conducted for this purpose. The analysis showed that several personality traits, as well as their composition, had a significant impact on TWQ. Additionally, other variables, such as the proportion of women and age distribution, also affected TWQ. The study's initial results demonstrate the usefulness and validity of the study design. The results also suggest several opportunities to improve teamwork in IT organizations and avenues for further research.