Job satisfaction at risk: Measuring the role of process debt in agile software development

Process debt (PD) in agile software development represents inefficiencies that undermine team performance and job satisfaction. This study investigates the quantitative impact of PD on job satisfaction within agile teams, surveying 191 participants from two software development organizations. Our research examines five PD types: Process Unsuitability, Roles Debt, Synchronization Debt, Documentation Debt, and Infrastructure Debt. Using multiple regression analysis, our model explains approximately 33.8 % of the variance in job satisfaction. Among the five PD types, Process Unsuitability and Roles Debt emerged as statistically significant predictors of reduced job satisfaction. These findings indicate that certain forms of PD have a measurable negative impact on developers’ perceptions of their work environment. By identifying which PD types most strongly influence job satisfaction, this research offers empirically grounded insights that can inform targeted interventions. Understanding and addressing the most impactful PD categories may help organizations refine agile processes, thereby mitigating the detrimental effects of process inefficiencies on job satisfaction.