Software Team Hierarchy of Needs
Bill Havanki

People have needs
In 1943, the psychologist Abraham Maslow proposed a theory about
what motivates humans.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
• Five levels of needs
• Needs at a lower level must be satisfied before an individual is
motivated to satisfy needs at a higher level
• There is motivation for several needs at once, but one need will
“dominate”

Software teams have needs too
In order to succeed, a software team also has needs
The goal is for the team to function at the highest level

The idea for this talk
A software team will reach the highest
level by satisfying its needs, starting from
the most basic and working up

Level 1
Physiological
Physiological

For humans
• air
• water
• food
• clothing
• shelter

For software development
• computers
• networks
• facilities
• development tools
• mission

Level 2
Safety
Safety

For humans
• personal security
• financial security
• health
• insurance / support

For software development
• version control
• unit tests
• requirements / user stories
• document standards
• coding standards

Level 3
Belonging
Belonging

For humans
• friends
• love
• social connections

For software development
• automated builds version control
• continuous integration version control
• integration tests unit tests
• release / sprint planning user stories
• code reviews coding standards, version control
• design documents document standards

Level 4
Esteem
Esteem

For humans
• respect
• self-esteem

For software development
• automated releases automated builds
• system tests integration tests
• schedules plans
• design reviews design documents

Level 5
Self-Actualization
Self-Actualization

For humans
• self-fulfillment
• realization of potential
• become the most you can be

For software development
• creation of high-quality code
• elimination of many bugs
• accurate prediction of deliveries
• happy customers
• happy management
• happy developers

Level 6
Self-Transcendence
Self-Transcendence

For humans and software
development
• peak experiences
• identify with something greater than the self
• altruism / service to others

Wrap-up

Social aspects
• Team / management / company culture is just as important to
address, oftentimes more important than technology or process
• The purpose of software and ethics surrounding it heavily influence
motivation

Overall idea more important than
details
• Mapping from human needs to software development team needs
is far from exact
• The placement of some needs is questionable
• Principles and ideas of the hierarchy more important than precision

Thank you!
Bill Havanki
•https://www.linkedin.com/in/bill
havanki
•havanki4j@gmail.com