A Study of the Organisational Behaviour of Software Test Engineers, Contributing to the Digital Transformation of Banks in the Irish Financial Sector

This initial exploratory paper will endeavour to understand theoretically how Software Test Engineers (STEs) behave within the organisational framework of an Irish financial institution (IFI), in terms of the development/execution of test cases, based on variables such as experience, the nature of the project in question and the environment of the IFI. Whist the research is currently in the initial stages, it will focus on the exploration of insider research and auto-ethnographic research methods, subsequently progressing to the delineation of how such knowledge relating to the various methods/tools used by STEs can be leveraged to improve performance and returns on investment for both STEs/IFIs respectively. The research will employ qualitative, inductive, and interpretive methods/methodologies to achieve its aim/objectives. This paper will focus on one specific research objective - the examination of individual STE behaviour within an IFI. Interviews will be conducted with participants working in a variety of roles (including STEs, Project Managers, Business Analysts, etc.,) to gather stories relating to the behaviour of STEs within a major IFI. Insider research methods will be used, supported by auto-ethnographic methods of reflexivity to help ensure research validity. Once the primary data collection phase is completed, it will be analysed/interpreted through theoretical frameworks within the discipline of organisational behaviour (OB). As this is inductive research, contributions to both theory and practice will emerge as the research process develops, but is expected to contribute to practice by highlighting the OB of a specific team with growing prominence/importance within the organisation, as it goes through a process of change to digital-first customer interactions. Additionally, the research will contribute to the methods of insider research through transparent reflection regarding the practical/philosophical challenges of this form of ethnographic research.