Den kollektive flytsonen: en kvalitativ studie av teamarbeid i en programvarebedrift

This thesis aims to explore teamwork in a software development organization. The approach was broad. The main objective was to explore and describe some of the processes taking place within the teams based on the team members’ experiences. The work was done in collaboration with the Norwegian software developing company DIPS ASA. The department of software development was the object of study. This empirical research was conducted inductively, using Grounded Theory as an inspiration in the collection and analyzing of qualitative data. The data was collected through eight in-depth interviews, one of them a team interview, document studies, pre-interviews and group observation of a team. The broad approach gave us a rich dataset. It represented a variety of interesting opportunities in analyzing and exploring the data. Based on the results of data collection, we came to the conclusion that teamwork is all about taking the time to find, retain and develop a good cooperation spirit. We called it "the collective flow zone". It represents the core category of the study. We discovered that being interdisciplinary, team members completed each other’s competence. We also found three categories that help to explore the team concept further. Each category provides an independent contribution to teamwork knowledge in this company. In the "Motivation" category, we found that the task itself does not need to be motivating. Influence and control of the decisions tended to be more important drivers to motivation. The second category we defined as "Improvability." Here we found that the team members had an inner drive to improve work processes. We discovered that initiative from inside the team gained support. We also found that improvability was an important for finding and keeping the collective flow zone over a period of time. In the last category, we discovered that "company growth" made the organization more complex and fragmented. In this context, we found that the team represented a safe base. Providing knowledge-based descriptions of the teamwork in this organization, the findings may be useful for leaders in both DIPS and other organizations. We also believe it can give inspiration for further research on different organizational forms and support mechanisms for teams. Furthermore, the study gives insight into how teams differ. Finally, the thesis may give inspiration improvement processes for other team- like constellations in different businesses.