Mind the Gap: On the Relationship Between Automatically Measured and Self-Reported Productivity

TL;DR

This study investigates the relationship between automated productivity measurements and self-reported perceptions among software developers, aiming to bridge the gap between objective metrics and subjective assessments.

Contribution

It provides empirical insights into how automated and self-reported productivity measures relate, addressing a long-standing divide in software engineering research.

Findings

Automated and self-reported productivity measures show moderate correlation.

Self-reported productivity is influenced by individual perceptions and context.

Bridging the gap can improve productivity measurement accuracy.

Abstract

To improve software developers' productivity has been the holy grail of software engineering research. But before we can claim to have improved it, we must first be able to measure productivity. This is far from trivial. In fact, two separate research lines on software engineers' productivity have co-existed almost in complete isolation for a long time: automated product and process measures on the one hand and self-reported or perceived productivity on the other hand. In this article, we bridge the gap between the two with an empirical study of 81 software developers at Microsoft.