Predicting post‐meeting work activity in software development projects

Purpose – This study seeks to determine factors that encourage post‐meeting work activity in a software development group by assessing attendee diversity (functional, staffing and tenure), meeting size, and meeting history. Design/methodology/approach – One year's worth of meeting data from a software development group in a US‐based financial services company were collected and analyzed. A binary logistic regression analysis was utilized to determine the impact of diversity, meeting size, and meeting history on the likelihood of post‐meeting work activity. Findings – Tenure diversity and meeting history for each meeting event significantly contribute to the likelihood of post‐meeting work activity. Research limitations/implications – A lack of variance in the data does not allow for the examination of staffing diversity. Further, generalizability of findings is limited since data come entirely from one organization. Findings suggest that meeting characteristics, specifically tenure diversity and meeting history, can improve the likelihood of post‐meeting work activity occurring. Practical implications – Findings illustrate that management can leverage tenure diversity and meeting history within a software development group to encourage post‐meeting work activity. Originality/value – All organizations employ meetings, and research that clarifies how to extract maximum value from meeting events is critical. This study provides a first step in uncovering specific meeting characteristics which are most likely to impact post‐meeting work activity.