Corporate Training in Brazilian Software Engineering: A Quantitative Study of Professional Perceptions

TL;DR

This study identifies key factors influencing perceived quality and effectiveness of corporate training among Brazilian software engineers, highlighting the impact of engagement, activity variety, instructor performance, and mandatory participation.

Contribution

It introduces a validated instrument and quantitative analysis specific to the SE domain, revealing core predictors of training success and the effects of mandatory participation.

Findings

Cognitive engagement, activity variety, and instructor performance are the main predictors.

Mandatory participation reduces motivation and perceived quality.

Perceived impact on personal time is largely independent of training quality.

Abstract

Context: Strategic corporate training is essential for the sustained professional development of software engineers. However, there is a knowledge gap regarding the factors that drive quality and effectiveness of such training from the professionals' perspective, and no validated instrument exists for assessing these factors in the software engineering (SE) domain. Objective: This study aims to quantitatively analyze which factors influence SE professionals' perceptions of corporate training quality and effectiveness. Method: A quantitative survey was conducted with 282 Brazilian SE professionals. A structured questionnaire was developed and polychoric correlation was adopted for data analysis. Results: Three tightly correlated factors (cognitive engagement, variety of activities, and instructor performance) emerged as the strongest predictors of perceived training quality and effectiveness. Mandatory participation significantly reduces motivation and perceived training quality. Perceived impact on personal time proved to be largely independent of training quality. These findings are consistent with the general training effectiveness literature. Conclusions: Training effectiveness in the SE context is predominantly determined by three factors: cognitive engagement, variety of activities, and instructor performance. Mandatory participation negatively influences motivation, perceived relevance, and perceived training quality, while also amplifying the perception of time burden. The consistency with the general literature suggests that software organizations do not need to reinvent training design principles and can apply established guidelines with confidence. Salas and Cannon-Bowers' framework produced coherent results in the SE context, making it a promising candidate for future psychometric validation.