Insights on the relationship between decision-making style and personality in software engineering

Abstract

Software development involves many activities, and decision making is an essential one. Various factors can impact a decision-making process, and by understanding such factors, one can improve the process. Since people are the ones making decisions, some human-related aspects are amongst those influencing factors. One such aspect is the decision maker's personality.Objective: This research investigates the relationship between decision-making style and personality within the context of software project development. Method: We conducted a survey in a population of Brazilian software engineers to gather data on their personality and decision-making style. Results: Data from 63 participants was gathered and resulted in the identification of seven statistically significant correlations between decision-making style and personality (personality factor and personality facets). Furthermore, we built a regression model in which decision-making style (DMS) was the response variable and personality factors the independent variables. The backward elimination procedure selected only agreeableness to explain 4.2% of DMS variation. The model accuracy was evaluated and deemed good enough. Regarding the moderation effect of demographic variables (age, educational level, experience, and role) on the relationship between DMS and Agreeableness, the analysis showed that only software engineers' role has such effect. Conclusion:This paper contributes toward understanding the relationship between DMS and personality. Results show that the personality variable agreeableness can explain the variation in decision-making style. Furthermore, someone's role in a software development project can impact the strength of the relationship between DMS and agreeableness.

The Influence of Human Aspects on Requirements Engineering-related Activities: Software Practitioners’ Perspective

“…They collected personality proiles of 182 software practitioners using IPIP test. 45.1% of them were software testers and the majority of the rest were programmers. The results indicate that software testers are higher on conscientiousness factor than other software practitioners.…”

“…Mendes et al [45] conducted a study investigating the relationship between decision-making style and personality within the context of software project development where they conducted a survey and collected data from 63 software engineers. They identiied seven statistically signiicant correlations between decision-making style and personality and built a regression model considering the decision-making style as the response variable and personality factors as independent variables.…”

Using Personality Detection Tools for Software Engineering Research: How Far Can We Go?

“…Through regression analysis, they uncovered a strong link between neuroticism and burnout. Mendes et al [75] surveyed 63 Brazilian developers and found that the agreeableness trait is signiicantly associated with the variation in the decision-making style. Smith et al [111] analyzed the characteristics of professional developers' personalities based on their roles.…”

Using Personality Detection Tools for Software Engineering Research: How Far Can We Go?

“…Through regression analysis, they uncovered a strong link between neuroticism and burnout. Mendes et al [75] surveyed 63 Brazilian developers and found that the agreeableness trait is significantly associated with the variation in the decision-making style. Smith et al [111] analyzed the characteristics of professional developers' personalities based on their roles.…”