software team hierarchy of needs
TRANSCRIPT
Software Team Hierarchy of Needs
Bill Havanki
People have needs
In 1943, the psychologist Abraham Maslow proposed a theory about what motivates humans.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
•Five levels of needs
•Needs at a lower level must be satisfied before an individual is motivated to satisfy needs at a higher level
•There is motivation for several needs at once, but one need will “dominate”
Software teams have needs too
In order to succeed, a software team also has needs
The goal is for the team to function at the highest level
The idea for this talk
A software team will reach the highest level by satisfying its needs, starting from the most basic and working up
Level 1Physiological
For humans
•air
•water
•food
•clothing
•shelter
For software development
•computers
•networks
•facilities
•development tools
•mission
Level 2Safety
For humans
•personal security
•financial security
•health
•insurance / support
For software development
•version control
•unit tests
•requirements / user stories
•document standards
•coding standards
Level 3Belonging
For humans
•friends
•love
•social connections
For software development
•automated builds version control
•continuous integration version control
•integration tests unit tests
•release / sprint planning user stories
•code reviews coding standards, version control
•design documents document standards
Level 4Esteem
For humans
•respect
•self-esteem
For software development
•automated releases automated builds
•system tests integration tests
•schedules plans
•design reviews design documents
Level 5Self-Actualization
For humans
•self-fulfillment
•realization of potential
•become the most you can be
For software development
•creation of high-quality code
•elimination of many bugs
•accurate prediction of deliveries
•happy customers
•happy management
•happy developers
Level 6Self-Transcendence
For humans and software development
•peak experiences
•identify with something greater than the self
•altruism / service to others
Wrap-up
Social aspects
•Team / management / company culture is just as important to address, oftentimes more important than technology or process
•The purpose of software and ethics surrounding it heavily influence motivation
Overall idea more important than details
•Mapping from human needs to software development team needs is far from exact
•The placement of some needs is questionable
•Principles and ideas of the hierarchy more important than precision
