Exploring Empathy in Software Engineering: Insights from a Grey Literature Analysis of Practitioners' Perspectives

TL;DR

This paper investigates the role of empathy in software engineering by analyzing practitioner perspectives from grey literature and surveys, identifying barriers, practices, and positive outcomes to enhance team collaboration and communication.

Contribution

It provides a novel definition of empathy in SE, identifies key barriers and practices, and offers a conceptual framework to foster empathy in software teams.

Findings

Barriers include toxic culture and technical focus

Practices to foster empathy improve collaboration and reduce stress

Framework raises awareness and suggests training integration

Abstract

Context. Empathy, a key social skill, is essential for communication and collaboration in SE but remains an under-researched topic. Aims. This study investigates empathy in SE from practitioners' perspectives, aiming to characterize its meaning, identify barriers, discuss practices to overcome them, and explore its effects. Method. A qualitative content analysis was conducted on 55 web articles from DEV and Medium, two communities widely used by practitioners. To strengthen our findings, we conducted a follow-up survey with empathy experts. Results. The study proposes a definition of empathy in SE, identifies barriers such as toxic culture and excessive technical focus, practices to foster empathy in teams, and outcomes, including improved collaboration, communication, and reduced anxiety, frustration, and stress. These findings are synthesized into a conceptual framework. Conclusion. Survey results indicate the framework is clear, valuable, and raises empathy awareness, with suggestions for improvements and integration into training. This study paves the way for improving team dynamics by addressing barriers and offering strategies to cultivate empathy. Future work will explore empathy's broader implications in SE practice.