Would You Like to Motivate Software Testers? Ask Them How

TL;DR

This study investigates how work-related factors influence software testers' motivation, revealing that variety, recognition, and learning opportunities are key motivators, while social impact has less influence.

Contribution

It applies a motivation theory-based questionnaire to identify key motivators for software testers, providing insights for management to enhance motivation.

Findings

Testers are motivated by variety and creative tasks.

Recognition significantly boosts tester motivation.

Social impact has limited influence on motivation.

Abstract

Context. Considering the importance of software testing to the development of high quality and reliable software systems, this paper aims to investigate how can work-related factors influence the motivation of software testers. Method. We applied a questionnaire that was developed using a previous theory of motivation and satisfaction of software engineers to conduct a survey-based study to explore and understand how professional software testers perceive and value work-related factors that could influence their motivation at work. Results. With a sample of 80 software testers we observed that software testers are strongly motivated by variety of work, creative tasks, recognition for their work, and activities that allow them to acquire new knowledge, but in general the social impact of this activity has low influence on their motivation. Conclusion. This study discusses the difference of opinions among software testers, regarding work-related factors that could impact their motivation, which can be relevant for managers and leaders in software engineering practice.