Applications of Emotional Intelligence in Program Comprehension

Software engineers may work on machines, but we are ultimately humans collaborating with humans to serve humans. There has recently been increased interest in the role of so-called “soft skills” in software development tasks, including the often emotionally demanding work of program comprehension. How do we reduce the pain experienced by developers navigating complex codebases, critical code reviews, or discouraging Stack Overflow exchanges? In this talk, I’ll share reflections from seven years of working with software engineers in diverse settings on developing emotional intelligence skills, with an emphasis on compassion. I’ll describe encouraging results, challenges, as well as opportunities for further research.