Storytelling in human--centric software engineering research

TL;DR

This paper explores how storytelling, a natural human activity, can enhance human-centric software engineering research by aiding data collection, analysis, and practical interventions, while addressing associated risks.

Contribution

It defines storytelling concepts, identifies types and purposes, reviews literature, and proposes next steps for integrating storytelling into software engineering research.

Findings

Storytelling can enhance data collection and analysis.

It helps in making research more human-centered and meaningful.

Risks of storytelling can be managed effectively.

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Software engineering is a human activity. People naturally make sense of their activities and experience through storytelling. But storytelling does not appear to have been properly studied by software engineering research. AIM: We explore the question: what contribution can storytelling make to human--centric software engineering research? METHOD: We define concepts, identify types of story and their purposes, outcomes and effects, briefly review prior literature, identify several contributions and propose next steps. RESULTS: Storytelling can, amongst other contributions, contribute to data collection, data analyses, ways of knowing, research outputs, interventions in practice, and advocacy, and can integrate with evidence and arguments. Like all methods, storytelling brings risks. These risks can be managed. CONCLUSION: Storytelling provides a potential counter--balance to abstraction, and an approach to retain and honour human meaning in software engineering.