PTAP: A SYSTEMATIC STUDY OF PERSONALITY TRAIT ACTIVATION UNDER TIME PRESSURE IN SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

Software development is plagued by time pressure which is a critical and widespread factor that is usually fueled by harsh deadlines and dead release cycles. Moderate pressure can be associated with the focus, though the high time pressure is associated with stress, burnout, and project failure. Psychological and management studies have proposed that personality traits mediate the perception and performance of individuals under the pressure of time, but the connection is under-researched in the field of software engineering (SE). This systematic review is a synthesis of 20 studies found in SE, psychology, and management - through a systematic search of IEEE Xplore, ACM Digital Library, Scopus and ScienceDirect - to study the moderating effect of personality on the developer response to time pressure. The results reveal that although conscientiousness can tend to reduce the effects of stress and sustain performance, neuroticism increases anxiety and cognitive mistakes in deadlines. Transparency helps to create flexibility but can be more distracting. This review shows that there are considerable gaps in theories and methods such as the absence of longitudinal designs, integrated psychometric-project measures, and SE-specific models. Our theoretical framework that connects personality, time pressure, and the results of developers, and a set of actionable managerial suggestions, including personality-driven task assignments, well-being interventions, and adaptive leadership, to ensure sustainable productivity, is suggested. The review provides a platform to cross-disciplinary, data-intensive research to help in advancing human-centered software engineering theory and practice.