In our research, we focus on empirical software engineering, especially the human factor, meaning that we do research for and about the people who create software. Our projects center around developer productivity, which entails efficiency in workflows, code quality, developer well-being, and collaboration and communication in and across development teams.

Our current projects are:

Programmer's Block: Stuck in the Code

It started with a simple question: "We know there's writer's block, when writer's get stuck in their writing process. But does the same thing happen to programmers? Is there such a thing as a programmer's block?"

And the answer is: Yes!

In our research, we talked to developers and revealed that some problems in software engineering can lead to similar blocks like they occur in writing. We investigate the causes of these blocks, how they impact developers, and how we can leverage the connections between writing processes and development processes to find effective ways to solve these blocks.

Mental Models of Softwaresystems

A mental model is an internal representation that helps us understand the world and anticipate how our actions will affect it. These models are shaped by our knowledge, experience, and personal background.

Because mental models influence how we think, communicate, and make decisions, understanding them is crucial, especially in software engineering. By studying how software engineers conceptualize software systems, we can gain valuable insights into how they design and reason about them, and, for example, improve learning processes or communication within engineering teams.