Managing radical software engineers: between order and chaos

ABSTRACT

Innovations in software engineering organizations frequently emerge from risky behavior. Most often, these risks are taken by only a small percentage of the software engineering staff - radical engineers (REs). They go against the status quo, experiment with new methods or technologies, and have the burden of bringing the innovations into the mainstream of the organization. Most organizations however, do a poor job of adequately and effectively managing radical engineers (REs). They can be found at either end of the order-chaos continuum. Successful software organizations are those that are able to balance between the extremes and manage REs effectively. In this paper, we discuss lessons learnt in managing REs from software organizations.

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INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  K. Computing Milieux
  K.6 MANAGEMENT OF COMPUTING AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS
      K.6.1 Project and People Management

Additional Classification:
  K. Computing Milieux
  K.7 THE COMPUTING PROFESSION
      K.7.1 Occupations
      K.7.2 Organizations

General Terms:
Human Factors, Management

Keywords:
incentives, innovation, knowledge management, knowledge workers, software development, software engineers