Abstract:
The task of developing software systems not only requires technological aspects but also, and more
importantly, human aspects. Here, we argue that every software method/process ought to support the
human aspects of software engineering, in terms of 'working teams', as well as the technological
aspects. Consequently, we proposed some new process fragments to augment an existing process
framework for software development specifically to be able to support the human side of software
development that bring together individuals to achieve teamwork for a common purpose. We first
discuss the concepts of working teams and team building followed by an investigation of some of the
weaknesses with the current software methods concerning the degree of support for the human side of
software engineering with particular emphasis on working teams and the team development lifecycle.
An empirical study, using Action Research (AR), with a governmental body in Australia was then
executed in order to test and validate our theory of augmenting the OPEN Process Framework (OPF)
with a new team building activity and-a number of tasks for enhancing teamwork. At the end of our
longitudinal study we have witnessed a major and successful work culture change that been achieved
at our study organization as a direct result of their adoption and diffusion of the proposed OPF that
was augmented with new support for the human aspects of software development.
