Continuous Learning at the Individual Level: a study in software development organizations

Abstract

This study aims to understand the occurrence of continuous learning at the individual level in Software Development Organizations – SDOs according to the framework proposed by Tannenbaum (1997). The objectives are to understand and describe the strategies and tools applied by developers during their learning process and if the studied SDOs offer a work environment conducive to continuous learning at the individual level. Thus, qualitative research was conducted with 12 Software Development Professionals in four SDOs applying semi-structured interviews. The subjects interviewed were involved in the software development process. The analyses were performed by the qualitative data analysis software Weft_QDA, which allowed the identification and analysis of speeches related to the theoretical concept of this study. The results show that SDOs offer an environment conducive to continuous learning at the individual level by allowing meaningful learning experiences, motivating constant participation in these experiences and, especially, engaging in complex projects whose results are influenced by the application of acquired knowledge.