Lying on Software Projects

Abstract

Lying is an understudied activity, especially in the software field. Yet lying is apparently quite common. In a 2006 survey of software practitioners, 86 percent of the respondents had encountered such lying. The most common occurrences were in estimation and status reporting, with those forms of lying happening on 50 percent of projects, some respondents saying even 100 percent. Respondents said that when lying happens, developers at the bottom level of the management hierarchy are most aware of the lying; they often know it's happening even when their management doesn't. Respondents also provided numerous suggestions on how to diminish or eliminate lying. However, many suggested that it's human nature to lie and that little can be done about it.