Context: Requirements engineering (RE) is an important part of Software Engineering (SE), consisting of various human-centric activities that require frequent collaboration of a variety of roles. Prior research has shown that personality is one such human aspect that has a huge impact on the success of a software project. However, a limited number of empirical studies exist focusing on the impact of personality on RE activities. Objective: The objective of this study is to explore and identify the impact of personality on RE activities, provide a better understanding of these impacts, and to provide guidance on how to better handle these impacts in RE. Method: We used a mixed-methods approach, including a personality test-based survey (50 participants) and an in-depth interview study (15 participants) with software practitioners from around the world involved in RE activities. Results: Through personality profiles, we found a majority of the practitioners scored as statistically significant (high-scored) on agreeableness and conscientiousness traits and average on extraversion and neuroticism traits. Through analysis of the interviews, we found a range of impacts related to the personality traits of software practitioners, their team members, and external stakeholders. These impacts can be positive or negative, depending on the RE activities, the overall software development process, and the people involved in these activities. Moreover, we found a set of strategies that can be applied to mitigate the negative impact of personality on RE activities. Conclusion: Our identified impacts of personality on RE activities and mitigation strategies serve to provide guidance to software practitioners on handling such possible personality impacts on RE activities and for researchers to investigate these impacts in greater depth in future.
翻译:要求工程(RE)是软件工程(SE)的一个重要部分,包括各种需要经常协作的各种角色的以人为中心的活动。先前的研究显示,人格是人性的一个方面,对软件项目的成功产生巨大影响;然而,目前只有为数不多的实证研究侧重于个性对RE活动的影响。 目标:本研究的目的是探讨和确定个性对RE活动的影响,更好地了解这些影响,并就如何更好地处理RE活动的影响提供指导。方法:我们采用了混合方法方法,包括个性测试调查(50名参与者)和深入访谈研究(15名参与者),与世界各地参与RE活动的软件从业人员进行了深入的访谈研究。结果:通过个性概况,我们发现大多数从业者在统计上看对RE活动的可接受性和自觉性特征以及异性和神经性特征的平均值都很重要。通过对访谈分析,我们发现与软件从业人员的个性特征、其团队成员和外部利益攸关方的缓解活动有关的一系列影响。这些影响可以用来减轻软件活动的总体影响。