Mitigation of Cognitive Biases in Innovative Software Engineering Projects: A Proposal
Resumo
Cognitive biases are critical in software engineering (SE) affecting replanning, failures and even cancellations. This work aims to identify and mitigate cognitive biases in the management of innovative projects in SE, in a large multinational company. Using the Design Science Research (DSR) method, a (1) Systematic Literature Review (SLR) will be carried out, (2) complementary research, (3) study of technological alternatives and (4) application of an artifact in the company’s project portfolio to identify the behavior of the five most impactful biases in SE, proposing a framework with practical recommendations to eliminate them, contributing to future research in the industry.
Palavras-chave:
cognitive bias, project, software, innovation, psychology
Referências
Borowa, K., Zalewski, A., and Kijas, S. (2021). The influence of cognitive biases on architectural technical debt. In Proceedings - IEEE 18th International Conference on Software Architecture, ICSA 2021, pages 115–125. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
Buffardi, K. (2023). Cognitive reflection in software verification and testing. pages 1–10. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).
Catto, S. L. and Maccari, E. A. (2021). Innovation projects management: a systematic literature review. Revista de Administração da UFSM, 14:848–863.
Chattopadhyay, S., Nelson, N., Au, A., Morales, N., Sanchez, C., Pandita, R., and Sarma1, A. (2020). A tale from the trenches: Cognitive biases and software development. In Proceedings - International Conference on Software Engineering, pages 75–86. IEEE Computer Society.
Geyer, F., Szakal, V. A., Kara, P. A., and Simon, A. (2022). Cognitive-bias-induced differences in the perceived video quality of rugged and conventional smartphones. In Proceedings - 16th International Conference on Signal-Image Technology and Internet-Based Systems, SITIS 2022, pages 592–599. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
Guerra, A. (2024). Impact of cognitive biases on innovative software engineering projects - [link]. Acessado em: 31 de março de 2025.
Kavitha, J., Kiran, J. S., Prasad, S. D., Soma, K., Babu, G. C., and Sivakumar, S. (2022). Prediction and its impact on its attributes while biasing machinelearning training data. In Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Smart Technologies in Computing, Electrical and Electronics, ICSTCEE 2022. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
Mohanani, R., Ralph, P., Turhan, B., and Mandic, V. (2022). How templated requirements specifications inhibit creativity in software engineering. IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering, 48:4074–4086.
Mohanani, R., Salman, I., Turhan, B., Iguez, P. R., and Ralph, P. (2020). Cognitive biases in software engineering: A systematic mapping study.
Mohanani, R., Turhan, B., and Ralph, P. (2021). Requirements framing affects design creativity. IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering, 47:936–947.
Nicodeme, C. (2021). Tackle cognitive biases in videosurveillance. In IEEE International Symposium on Industrial Electronics, volume 2021-June. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
Rafiq, U., Melegati, J., Khanna, D., Guerra, E., and Wang, X. (2021). Analytics mistakes that derail software startups. In ACM International Conference Proceeding Series, pages 60–69. Association for Computing Machinery.
Vaishanvi, V. and Library., A. D. (2009). Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Design Science Research in Information Systems and Technology. ACM.
Wieringa, R. (2014). Design science methodology for information systems and software engineering. Springer.
Wyrich, M., Merz, L., and Graziotin, D. (2022). Anchoring code understandability evaluations through task descriptions. In IEEE International Conference on Program Comprehension, volume 2022-March, pages 133–140. IEEE Computer Society.
Zhou, Q. (2020). Cognitive biases in technical communication. In IEEE International Professional Communication Conference, volume 2020-July, pages 39–46. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
Buffardi, K. (2023). Cognitive reflection in software verification and testing. pages 1–10. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).
Catto, S. L. and Maccari, E. A. (2021). Innovation projects management: a systematic literature review. Revista de Administração da UFSM, 14:848–863.
Chattopadhyay, S., Nelson, N., Au, A., Morales, N., Sanchez, C., Pandita, R., and Sarma1, A. (2020). A tale from the trenches: Cognitive biases and software development. In Proceedings - International Conference on Software Engineering, pages 75–86. IEEE Computer Society.
Geyer, F., Szakal, V. A., Kara, P. A., and Simon, A. (2022). Cognitive-bias-induced differences in the perceived video quality of rugged and conventional smartphones. In Proceedings - 16th International Conference on Signal-Image Technology and Internet-Based Systems, SITIS 2022, pages 592–599. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
Guerra, A. (2024). Impact of cognitive biases on innovative software engineering projects - [link]. Acessado em: 31 de março de 2025.
Kavitha, J., Kiran, J. S., Prasad, S. D., Soma, K., Babu, G. C., and Sivakumar, S. (2022). Prediction and its impact on its attributes while biasing machinelearning training data. In Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Smart Technologies in Computing, Electrical and Electronics, ICSTCEE 2022. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
Mohanani, R., Ralph, P., Turhan, B., and Mandic, V. (2022). How templated requirements specifications inhibit creativity in software engineering. IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering, 48:4074–4086.
Mohanani, R., Salman, I., Turhan, B., Iguez, P. R., and Ralph, P. (2020). Cognitive biases in software engineering: A systematic mapping study.
Mohanani, R., Turhan, B., and Ralph, P. (2021). Requirements framing affects design creativity. IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering, 47:936–947.
Nicodeme, C. (2021). Tackle cognitive biases in videosurveillance. In IEEE International Symposium on Industrial Electronics, volume 2021-June. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
Rafiq, U., Melegati, J., Khanna, D., Guerra, E., and Wang, X. (2021). Analytics mistakes that derail software startups. In ACM International Conference Proceeding Series, pages 60–69. Association for Computing Machinery.
Vaishanvi, V. and Library., A. D. (2009). Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Design Science Research in Information Systems and Technology. ACM.
Wieringa, R. (2014). Design science methodology for information systems and software engineering. Springer.
Wyrich, M., Merz, L., and Graziotin, D. (2022). Anchoring code understandability evaluations through task descriptions. In IEEE International Conference on Program Comprehension, volume 2022-March, pages 133–140. IEEE Computer Society.
Zhou, Q. (2020). Cognitive biases in technical communication. In IEEE International Professional Communication Conference, volume 2020-July, pages 39–46. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
Publicado
12/05/2025
Como Citar
GUERRA, Alberto.
Mitigation of Cognitive Biases in Innovative Software Engineering Projects: A Proposal. In: CONGRESSO IBERO-AMERICANO EM ENGENHARIA DE SOFTWARE (CIBSE), 28. , 2025, Ciudad Real/Espanha.
Anais [...].
Porto Alegre: Sociedade Brasileira de Computação,
2025
.
p. 281-287.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5753/cibse.2025.35314.
