The Dynamics of Creativity in Software Development

<strong>Abstract</strong>. Software is primarily developed for people by people and human factors must be studied in all software engineering phases. Creativity is the source to improvise solutions to problems for dominating complex systems such as software development. However, there is a lack of knowledge in what creativity is in software development and what its dynamics are. This study describes the current state of the research plan towards a theory on creativity in software development. More specifically, it (1) states the motivation for studying creativity in software development under a multidisciplinary view; it (2) provides a first review of the literature identifying the shortcomings in the field; it (3) proposes a research design, which includes rarely employed methods in software engineering. To understand creativity in software development will provide a better knowledge of the software construction process and how individuals intellectually contribute to the creation of better, innovative products. This paper is the final version, after peer review. It will be presented at: 14th International Conference on Product-Focused Software Process Improvement (PROFES 2013), Doctoral Symposium, 12 June 2013, Paphos, Cyprus. Please add the previous details when referencing this paper. This publication should receive an ISBN number. If any, this description and the file will be updated.