ABSTRACT

This revealing book is about software development, the developers themselves, and how their work is organized and managed. The latest original research from Australia, Europe, and the UK is used to examine the differences between the image and reality of work in this industry. Chapters also cover issues surrounding the management of 'knowledge work and workers' and professionals in order to expose some of the problems of the management of software development work and workers.

chapter |12 pages

Introduction

Myth and reality

chapter |31 pages

The labor process in software startups

Production on a virtual assembly line?

chapter |24 pages

Managing the software development labour process

Direct control, time and technical autonomy

chapter |23 pages

Trick or treat?

Autonomy as control in knowledge work

chapter |23 pages

Coming and going at will?

Working time organization in German IT companies

chapter |22 pages

Professional identity in software work

Evidence from Scotland