¶ … software processes of sometime deteriorate into non-Productive arguments. Why does this occur?

If only human being's egos could be as carefully streamlined of nonproductive processes as the software applications they design, the workplace would be a far more productive space. The reasons for non-productive arguments are often rooted in the same sources as other workplace and even family conflicts. Clashes of personal ego create arguments that have little to do with actual project demands or practical and constructive responses to work-related problems. However, there are other sources of non-productive conflicts that are particularly endemic to the software industry and are not always particular to any individual workplace's clash of personalities.

Sometimes management issues poorly written requirements regarding the software that are "unclear, incomplete, too general, or not testable" therefore there will inevitably be problems and arguments when the creators of the software are facing a vague set of specifications with a seemingly infinite array of ways to meet those specifications. (Davis, 2004) It is also crucial that management have specifications that can be tested; methods of software design will often lead to arguments if the results cannot be validated through constructive and process-based means.

Contributing to the problem of a lack of quality control or testability are expectations that are often changed by the customers. This results in conflict as to how to achieve ever-shifting requirements. The less clearly defined the objectives, the more opinions about how to achieve those objectives will result. Lastly, changing new requirements and the need to create new features are often done on an unrealistic schedule. Pressure not only means too much work is crammed in too little time but also that conflict may erupt, and ideological rather than solution-based arguments may be generated amongst the development staff.

Work Cited

Davis, Rob. (2004) "Five Common Problems that occur during software development." Software Testing Engineer. Retrieved 13 Jan 2004 at http://www.robdavispe.com/free2/software-qa-testing-test-tester-2011.html