Challenges, Strengths, and Strategies of Software Engineers with ADHD: A Case Study
Neurodiversity describes brain function variation in individuals, including Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and Autism spectrum disorder. Neurodivergent individuals both experience challenges and exhibit strengths in the workplace. As an important disorder included under the neurodiversity term, an estimated 5.0% to 7.1% of the world population have ADHD. However, existing studies involving ADHD in the workplace are of general nature and do not focus on software engineering (SE) activities. To address this gap, we performed an exploratory qualitative case study on the experiences of people with ADHD working in SE. We find that people with ADHD struggle with several important SE-related activities, e.g., task organisation and estimation, attention to work, relation to others. Furthermore, they experience issues with physical and mental health. In terms of strengths, they exhibit, e.g., increased creative skills, perform well when solving puzzles, and have the capability to think ahead. Our findings align well with existing clinical ADHD research, and have important implications to SE practice.
Wed 17 AprDisplayed time zone: Lisbon change
16:00 - 17:30 | Human and Social Aspects, and Requirements 1Research Track / Software Engineering in Society / Journal-first Papers at Fernando Pessoa Chair(s): Birgit Penzenstadler Chalmers | ||
16:00 15mTalk | Co-Creation in Fully Remote Software Teams Research Track Victoria Jackson University of California, Irvine, Rafael Prikladnicki School of Technology at PUCRS University, Andre van der Hoek University of California, Irvine | ||
16:15 15mTalk | A Large-Scale Survey on the Usability of AI Programming Assistants: Successes and Challenges Research Track Jenny T. Liang Carnegie Mellon University, Chenyang Yang Carnegie Mellon University, Brad A. Myers Carnegie Mellon University | ||
16:30 15mTalk | How to Support ML End-User Programmers through a Conversational Agent Research Track Emily Judith Arteaga Garcia Oregon State University, João Felipe Pimentel Northern Arizona University, Zixuan Feng Oregon State University, Marco Gerosa Northern Arizona University, Igor Steinmacher Northern Arizona University, Anita Sarma Oregon State University DOI Authorizer link | ||
16:45 15mTalk | Unveiling the Life Cycle of User Feedback: Best Practices from Software Practitioners Research Track Ze Shi Li University of Victoria, Nowshin Nawar Arony University of Victoria, Kezia Devathasan University of Victoria, Manish Sihag University of Victoria, Neil Ernst University of Victoria, Daniela Damian University of Victoria | ||
17:00 15mTalk | Challenges, Strengths, and Strategies of Software Engineers with ADHD: A Case Study Software Engineering in Society Grischa Liebel Reykjavik University, Noah Langlois ISAE-ENSMA, Kiev Gama Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE) Pre-print | ||
17:15 7mTalk | Safety of Perception Systems for Automated Driving: A Case Study on Apollo Journal-first Papers Sangeeth Kochanthara Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) , Tajinder Singh Siemens Digital Industries Software, Alexandru Forrai Siemens Digital Industries Software, Loek Cleophas Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) and Stellenbosch University (SU) | ||
17:22 7mTalk | Exposing Algorithmic Discrimination and Its Consequences in Modern Society: Insights from a Scoping Study Software Engineering in Society Ramandeep Singh Dehal Cape Breton University, Mehak Sharma Cape Breton University, Ronnie de Souza Santos University of Calgary Pre-print |