Personality in software engineering: preliminary findings from a systematic literature review

Abstract

Background The influence of individual personalities on individual tasks and team work has been a concern in software engineering over the past 50 years. However, how to use personality analysis and what it can offer for the practice of software engineering is still subject to debate among researchers. Aim The goal of this work is to identify the methods used, topics addressed, personality tests applied, and the main findings produced in the research about personality in software engineering. Method We performed a systematic literature review of peer reviewed studies published between 1970 and 2010. Results Data extracted from 42 studies shows that pair programming and team building are the most recurring research topics and MBTI is the most used test. Conclusions Contradicting evidences were found that may have been caused by differences in context, research method, and versions of the tests used in the studies. While this raises a warning for practitioners that wish to use of personality tests in practice, it shows several opportunities for researchers.