Equip yourself to navigate organizational politics in the world of software development. This
book will help you understand the power dynamics at work between competing stakeholders with
conflicting goals in projects and organizations. Politics in Software Development consists of
three main parts. Author Peter Wendorff begins by defining key concepts in organizational
politics. He then moves on to software development processes and investigates how their design
reflects stakeholder interests. In the final part he highlights the role of political skill in
software development and provides an overview of tactics that stakeholders frequently use.
There is widespread competition within organizations for rewards recognition status and
power. It gives rise to political behavior of stakeholders which is generally seen as a
problem. This negative view of organizational politics tends to overlook its positive
functions. For example it can also be thought of as an arena where stakeholders with
conflicting goals can argue persuade negotiate bargain and cooperate to address conflicts.
Political conflict resolution regularly happens in organizations in an entirely civilized
manner. It helps find agreements that reconcile differences in a constructive way and it is
needed because stakeholder conflicts are simply a natural aspect of organizations. While there
is much literature about organizational politics very few authors consider the specifics of
software development. This book addresses both subjects and is written for an audience
interested in a political perspective on software development. What You'll Learn Recognize and
understand political activities in organizations Understand what software processes have to do
with stakeholder power and interests Acquire fundamental political skills for dealing with
politics in software development Who This Book Is For Project managers lead developers team
leaders team coaches product owners business analysts developers and other software
professionals. This book is also suitable for students in software engineering.
