To capture the evolution of software projects and simplify their understanding, researchers rely on metadata stored in collaborative tools such as issue trackers and version control systems. While these systems provide comprehensive data about codebases, project management practices, and contributors, developers are often abstracted in a simplistic manner, using only basic identifiers like unique usernames or commit-associated emails. This approach may overlook crucial aspects of developers’ activities, potentially leading to findings based on incomplete or inconsistent data.

To address the lack of concrete characterization, we propose implementing a developer-centric model that comprehensively represents each developer and their contributions to the software development community. We intend to leverage the concept of gamification and present developers as avatars, akin to collectors of all the software engineering knowledge they have collected over the years. This approach will provide a more interactive and engaging way to comprehend such complex information. To do so, we analyze the activities performed by each individual across multiple projects and platforms at various levels of granularity to capture their essence and uniquely represent them accurately.

In an era where robots and artificial intelligence are growing more integrated into various aspects of the software engineering field, we want to shift the focus back to what is the most crucial link in the software development chain: The Human