Congrats to Hashini
Many congrats to Hashini Gunatilake for her awarded PhD!
Decoding Empathy in SE: Exploring the Role of Empathy in Software Engineering
Software Engineering (SE) is a socio-technical discipline grounded in problem-solving,
where the challenge lies in translating complex, real-world issues into effective digital
solutions. Achieving this requires more than technical expertise. It involves continuous
interaction among software developers, stakeholders (such as product owners, project
managers, business analysts, UI/UX designers, and testers), and end-users. These in-
dividuals often bring diverse professional backgrounds, communication styles, and con-
textual understandings. While such diversity can enrich collaboration, it can also lead
to misunderstandings, misaligned expectations, and software that does not fully address
the actual needs of users. A critical but under-explored human capability that can help
navigate these challenges is empathy, which has shown to improve communication, build
trust, and enhance outcomes in fields such as healthcare, education, and engineering.
However, within SE, empathy remains conceptually underdeveloped and practically un-
supported, despite its potential to improve collaboration and support human-centred
design.
This thesis investigates the role of empathy in shaping interactions between software
developers, stakeholders, and end-users. It further examines how empathy can be em-
bedded in SE practices to support more effective communication, inclusive decision-
making, and meaningful software outcomes. The scope of this thesis evolved through an
iterative and multi-stage research process that combined theoretical investigation with
empirical studies. A systematic review of literature examined the human aspects in
relation to the interactions between developers and end-users which revealed empathy
as an overlooked area of investigation. A taxonomy of empathy models, measures, and
techniques was then developed to understand how existing frameworks can inform SE
practice. Further empirical studies examined how empathy is understood and expressed
in SE, and what factors enable or hinder its application. This work led to the devel-
opment of a grounded theory explaining the context, conditions, causes, consequences,
contingencies, and covariances related to empathy in SE. Based on these findings, a set
of practical empathy guidelines was created to support individual practitioners, teams,
and organisations. An implementation prioritisation framework was also introduced to
assist with the adoption of these guidelines in real-world settings. Lastly, the thesis
presents the first SE-specific empathy scales, tailored to assess empathy among practi-
tioners and towards end-users. These scales aim to support future research and practice
by providing a structured approach to measuring empathy in SE contexts.