How to Better Form Software Development Teams? An Analysis of Different Formation Criteria

In the competitive world of the on-demand software development market, some practices that increase companies' chances of delivering better results turn out to be an essential differentiator. Several studies in the literature discuss numerous criteria used by companies in the formation of teams. This research aims to analyze the criteria and factors in the formation of software teams and their impacts on the value perceived by the customer of the deliveries. We collected 31 project results scores of an R&D organization and performed a quantitative analysis comparing teams formed using two selection criteria: self-selection versus leader selection. We observed a statistical significance in the comparison between the selection criteria when tested with the longevity factor. Our results indicated that the self-selection team formation criteria had impact on value delivered to the customer. We also noticed this impact when, besides being self-selected, the team was also long-lived.