This high number of task and activity switches and the high variety of activities and tasks developers pursue each day illustrate the high fragmentation of a developer’s work. Surprisingly, many developers still felt productive despite the high number of context switches. The follow-up interviews with the developers revealed that the cost of context switches varies. The cost or “harm” of a context switch depends on several factors: the duration of the switch, the reason for the switch, and the focus on the current task that is interrupted.
