Technology, Organisation and Qualifications in Software Development

This chapter is about the effects of technological and organisational change on the qualifications of software developers. Software development is characterised by the high qualifications of the software developers and the rapid changing technological conditions. Several case studies are presented that show negative and positive examples with regard to sociotechnical principles. The application of the sociotechnical approach on knowledge work is encouraged by the work of Taylor and Felten (1993). As the qualitative case studies will show, software development is an outstanding example in this field of knowledge work.