Newest papers

Theory of Developer Momentum: The Developer's Experience of Progress and the Craft of Maintaining Motion

Arty Starr, Keith Mann, Margaret‐Anne Storey · 2026 · arXiv (Cornell University)

DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2610.24935 · cited by 0 works (OpenAlex) · open-access PDF

Portuguese

Este artigo introduz uma Teoria de Dados do Momentum do Desenvolvedor que nos ajuda a ver a atividade de desenvolvimento de software em movimento e o artesanato hábil através do qual o progresso se desenvolve. Definimos o Momentum do Desenvolvedor como a experiência do desenvolvedor de progresso e avanço em direção ao objetivo de uma tarefa. Nossa teoria dissipa as construções relacionadas do estado de fluxo, do momentum e da motivação, para que possamos ver mais claramente as relações entre eles e como eles se entrelaçam para apoiar o progresso. A fim de fazer o progresso, os desenvolvedores criam um contexto de trabalho vivo na memória, ficam imersos em um quebra-cabeça cognitivo e ganham clareza através do movimento em terreno incerto. A teoria fornece aos pesquisadores uma lente experiencial

Machine translation (Meta M2M100); the English original follows.

Abstract

This paper introduces a Theory of Developer Momentum that helps us see the activity of developing software in motion and the skilled craft through which progress unfolds. We define Developer Momentum as the developer's experience of progress and forward motion toward the goal of a task. Our theory disentangles the related constructs of flow state, momentum, and motivation, so we can more clearly see the relationships between them and how they interweave to support progress. In order to make progress, developers build up working context in memory, become immersed in a cognitive puzzle, and gain clarity through motion in uncertain terrain. The theory provides researchers with a rich experiential lens to investigate how developers' cognitive experiences are shifting in emerging AI workflows. Building on prior grounded theory work, we conducted in-depth interviews with a theoretically sampled subset of 12 professional developers, and eight feedback interviews to evaluate resonance and investigate how the theory translates to agentic AI workflows. We followed a Constructivist Grounded Theory approach to construct a theory grounded in empirical data. Our theory contributes a novel paradigm for seeing the motion of developing software at multiple scales and resolutions, seeing the living capacities that support this motion, and expanding what becomes available for improvement, skilled judgment, and craft.

Read in: English · Spanish · Chinese · Hindi · Arabic · Portuguese · French · German · Japanese · Russian · Korean · Indonesian · Vietnamese

Topics: Grounded theory, Craft, Motion (physics), CLARITY, Experiential learning, Context (archaeology)

Sources: OpenAlex (CC0), arXiv, Crossref. Agent Exchange