Flow barriers: What prevents software developers from experiencing flow in their work

Abstract

Software development requires high problem-solving skills and creativity, making it a profession with good opportunities to become immersed in a flow experience. The characteristics of flow experience are absorption, enjoyment, and intrinsic motivation toward the activity. This study aims to better understand the barriers that prevent software developers from experiencing flow at work. Previous research has mostly examined software developers’ productivity, flow being one component of productive workdays. This study addresses the research gap by exploring the barriers to experiencing flow in software development. A qualitative questionnaire was used to gather data about flow experiences from 405 respondents. The most prominent flow barriers that emerged from these responses were interruptions, too easy, boring, or repetitive tasks, lack of opportunities, insufficient requirements, timetables and deadlines, and problems with technology or software. The results suggest that there are many more flow barriers in software development than what have been discussed in the context of productivity. These findings open up an interesting avenue for researching flow experiences in the software development context. The implication for practice is uncovering common flow barriers in software development, which can help both developers and managers identify these barriers, try to mitigate them, and facilitate more flow experiences at work.