Keynote SessionSANER 2026

Nicole Novielli

Affiliation:
University of Bari “A. Moro”

Biography:
Nicole Novielli is an Associate Professor at the University of Bari, Italy. Her expertise is in Affective Computing. Since 2006, her research is on human factors and emotions in natural language interaction. She is a member of the COLLAB research group, whose research is in Software Engineering and Computer-Supported Cooperative Work, with focus on collaborative software development. She is involved in the Italian AI PhD program (AI & Società).

Title:
Mining Emotions in Software Engineering: From Text to Biometrics

Abstract:
Software artifacts—commit messages, issue discussions, code reviews—are more than technical records; they capture the human side of how software changes over time and help us understand how projects and communities grow together. Research has demonstrated how emotions such as frustration, confusion, gratitude, and curiosity leave detectable traces in these artifacts, offering valuable signals for understanding how software systems and their communities co-evolve. In this talk, I will trace the evolution of research on emotion recognition in software engineering, from early lexicon-based sentiment analysis to transformer-based models detecting fine-grained emotions in developers' communication. I will also discuss how biometric sensors—capturing physiological signals such as heart rate and skin conductance—can complement text-based approaches by enabling real-time emotion detection during development tasks. I will show how mining these emotional signals, whether from repositories or from developers themselves, can unlock new insights for software analysis and reengineering: predicting project health, understanding contributor dynamics, detecting early warning signs of maintenance challenges, and identifying communication patterns associated with technical debt. I will conclude by arguing that as we build intelligent tools for program understanding, we must remember that software is a human endeavor, and understanding its emotional dimension is essential for supporting developers’ wellbeing and productivity.

Alexander Serebrenik

Affiliation:
Eindhoven University of Technology

Biography:
Alexander Serebrenik is a full professor of social software engineering at the Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands. His research goal is to facilitate evolution of software by taking into account social aspects of software development. His work tends to involve theories and methods both from within computer science (e.g., theory of socio-technical coordination; methods from natural language processing, machine learning) and from outside of computer science (e.g., organisational psychology). The underlying idea of his work is that of empiricism, i.e., that addressing software engineering challenges should be grounded in observation and experimentation, and requires a combination of the social and the technical perspectives. Alexander has co-authored a book “Evolving Software Systems” (Springer Verlag, 2014), “Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Software Engineering: Best Practices and Insights” (APress, 2024) and more than 250 scientific papers and articles. He is actively involved in organisation of scientific conferences and is member of the editorial board of several journals. He has won multiple best paper and distinguished reviewer awards. Alexander is a senior member of IEEE and a member of ACM.

Title:
Development of Infrastructure as Code: approaches, challenges and trends

Abstract:
Software is created by people, for people—and the diversity of those creating it shapes not only how it is built, but also the impact it has on society. As software has become an invisible yet essential part of almost every aspect of modern life, the ways in which it is developed have also evolved: from co-located teams to globally distributed collaborations involving professionals and volunteers alike. These changes have occurred alongside greater societal attention to equality, discrimination, and safety, as well as growing political pushback against diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. This shifting landscape poses a critical question: how can we create a more inclusive software world, and why does it matter for analysis, evolution and reengineering?
In this talk, I will explore recent research on diversity and inclusion in software engineering from the classroom to the workplace. We will look at the role of people in analysis, evolution and reengineering, and discuss teaching materials and group project organization. We reflect on how differences in communication styles, cultural backgrounds, and dominant-group behaviors can shape team dynamics. The workplace side of the journey will focus on inclusion as the balance of belonging and uniqueness—recognizing and valuing individuals’ identities and experiences while ensuring they feel part of the team. Examples will include experiences of LGBTIQ+ developers, older programmers, and others navigating environments shaped by both technical and social norms.
Finally, I will consider the future: the potential of technologies such as AI to either foster a more inclusive environment or exacerbate exclusion, and the responsibilities of researchers and educators to help steer industry and academia toward more equitable and supportive practices. While the focus is on analysis, evolution and reengineering, the questions raised speak more broadly to how we build environments in the broader context of software engineering—educational, professional, and technological—where everyone can contribute fully.

Accepted Papers