Designing a Causal Study to Evaluate the Impact of Remote Work on Software Development Productivity

Instruction: Outline a study design using causal inference principles to evaluate whether transitioning to remote work significantly impacts software development productivity.

Context: This question tests the candidate's ability to design a rigorous causal study in a real-world scenario, considering possible confounders, the appropriateness of different causal inference methods, and how to measure outcomes effectively. Candidates should discuss potential study designs such as a controlled experiment or a quasi-experimental design, identify key metrics for productivity, and address how they would handle confounding variables.

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Define the policy being compared: for example, a specified remote-work schedule versus an office schedule over twelve weeks for eligible development teams. Measure delivered customer value and quality through prespecified outcomes such as accepted work, lead time, escaped defects and team well-being. Commits and lines of code are activity measures that can change without productivity improving.

Where feasible and acceptable, randomize enough...

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