Developing Software for the Shopfloor on the Shopfloor: An Ethnographic Study of Software Engineering Practices In and For the Smart Factory

摘要

This paper discusses the case of a robotic software development project conducted by a large European company, aimed at reifying the smart factory vision in the authentic context of a real factory. In this environment, the robotic assembly system could be developed and tested under real operational conditions. This particular setting of the project had a visible impact on the workers, the project team, and their methodology. While some software engineers from the team experienced a cultural shock due to a perceived inversion of status entailed by working side by side with factory workers for extensive periods, workers were wary of the project's potential consequences for the nature and security of their jobs. Due to the social and physical challenges of the shopfloor, the team was forced to gradually adapt their development methods and practices in order to produce a working system.