Reduction of Software Rework Through the Mitigation of Cognitive Biases

The proposed work will lead to mechanisms for reducing the negative effects of Cognitive Biases – automatic, unconscious elements of the human reasoning system known to cause decision errors. While the outcomes of Cognitive Biases have been studied for decades, there has been almost no research into how to reduce or eliminate their negative effects. The end goal of the proposed work is a suite of mechanisms that reliably, simply and cost-effectively accomplish such ‘de-biasing’ in a workplace setting. The focus for the proposed work is the software engineering industry, where high defect rates are endemic and proven to be highly resistant to technology-based mitigation; we believe that focusing on the psychology of the human beings that create these defects will bring a new kind of mechanism to bear on this most problematic situation.

Faculty Supervisor:

Philippe Kruchten

Student:

Partner:

Clarrus Consulting Group Inc

Discipline:

Computer science

Sector:

University:

The University of British Columbia

Program:

Accelerate