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Nexus Between Psychological Safety and Non-Technical Debt in Large-Scale Agile Enterprise Resource Planning Systems Development

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Software, System, and Service Engineering (KKIO 2023)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Business Information Processing ((LNBIP,volume 499))

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Abstract

Psychological safety, a pivotal factor in team dynamics, has been proposed as a crucial determinant of success in agile software development (ASD) teams and learning. However, the extent of its influence within the domain of large-scale agile (LSA) software development teams remains underexplored. This research investigates the multifaceted dimensions of psychological safety within LSA teams, examining both its precursors and outcomes. This study conducted semi-structured interviews with software professionals actively involved in LSA projects within a Swedish software consultancy company. The findings underscore the intricate nature of establishing a psychologically safe environment within LSA teams, revealing it as a multidimensional construct necessitating a proactive leadership approach, fostering open communication, and cultivating an ecosystem of constructive feedback. The study highlights the critical importance of intentionally shaping teams to facilitate continuous learning, ensuring remuneration safety, and implementing a comprehensive onboarding process for incoming team members. By fostering psychologically safe settings, LSA teams enhanced teamwork dynamics, heightened job satisfaction, and facilitation continuous learning and development. Notably, the absence of such an environment exacerbates the phenomenon of brain drain, exposing the tangible consequences of overlooking this fundamental aspect of organizational culture. This study proposes avenues for future research directions, aiming to further unravel the nuances of psychological safety and its cascading effects within the realm of contemporary LSA software development context.

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Acknowledgement

This work was supported by the Knowledge Foundation, Sweden, through the NODLA project and Helge Ax:son Johnsons Stiftelse.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Computer Science, Karlstad University, 651 88, Karlstad, Sweden

    Muhammad Ovais Ahmad

  2. Karlstad Business School, Karlstad University, 651 88, Karlstad, Sweden

    Tomas Gustavsson

Authors
  1. Muhammad Ovais Ahmad
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  2. Tomas Gustavsson
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Muhammad Ovais Ahmad .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Gdańsk University of Technology, Gdansk, Poland

    Aleksander Jarzębowicz

  2. University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia

    Ivan Luković

  3. Gdańsk University of Technology, Gdańsk, Poland

    Adam Przybyłek

  4. University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden

    Mirosław Staroń

  5. Karlstad University, Karlstad, Sweden

    Muhammad Ovais Ahmad

  6. Poznan University of Technology, Poznan, Poland

    Mirosław Ochodek

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Ahmad, M.O., Gustavsson, T. (2024). Nexus Between Psychological Safety and Non-Technical Debt in Large-Scale Agile Enterprise Resource Planning Systems Development. In: Jarzębowicz, A., Luković, I., Przybyłek, A., Staroń, M., Ahmad, M.O., Ochodek, M. (eds) Software, System, and Service Engineering. KKIO 2023. Lecture Notes in Business Information Processing, vol 499. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-51075-5_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-51075-5_3

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