Surveying the Environmental and Technical Dimensions of Sustainability in Software Development Companies

Abstract

The growing concern over the state of degradation of the environment has led to a consideration of aspects relating to sustainability in software. Bearing this in mind, we have carried out a survey of practitioners, aiming to gather information about their awareness of sustainable software, not only during the development process, but also throughout the period in which the software is used. Using the data gathered, we studied professionals’ perspectives on sustainability in software development, and were able to get a picture of the current situation of the application of sustainability practices in this sector. We focused on the environmental and technical dimensions of sustainability aimed at extending the longevity of information systems and making them more energy efficient. From the results, we observed that there is a widespread desire to pursue sustainable behavior at work, even though there are not always clear guidelines on how to proceed in this endeavor.