A Conceptual Mapping of Communication Demands in Collaborative Software Development: Implications for the Inclusion of Developers with ADHD
Resumo
Communication is central to collaborative software development, enabling coordination and shared understanding. However, cognitive differences may affect how these interactions are experienced. This study investigates cognitive barriers in collaborative communication involving developers with ADHD. We adopt a qualitative and exploratory approach integrating Software Engineering and Psychology. Based on Grounding in Communication and Brown’s Executive Functions model, we propose a conceptual mapping relating communication situations to cognitive demands. Results highlight recurring demands on attention, working memory, and concurrent stimuli, illustrated through interviews with developers with ADHD.
Palavras-chave:
Software Engineering, Collaborative Software Development, Communication, ADHD, Cognitive Inclusion
Referências
American Psychiatric Association (2013). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. American Psychiatric Publishing, Washington, DC, 5th edition.
Brown, T. E. (2008). Executive functions: Describing six aspects of a complex syndrome. Attention, pages 12–17.
Cartagena, T., Goelzer, N., Kohl, K., and Marczak, S. (2025). Cognitive mapping in software quality: A theoretical proposal for the inclusion of people with adhd. In Anais do XXIV Simpósio Brasileiro de Qualidade de Software (SBQS), pages 529–539, São José dos Campos, Brasil. Sociedade Brasileira de Computação (SBC).
Clark, H. H. and Brennan, S. E. (1991). Grounding in communication. In Resnick, L. B., Levine, J. M., and Teasley, S. D., editors, Perspectives on Socially Shared Cognition, pages 127–149. American Psychological Association, Washington, DC.
Clarke, A. (2025). Improving software team communication through social interventions in project management tools. In Proceedings of the IEEE/ACM 47th International Conference on Software Engineering: Companion Proceedings, pages 172–174.
Creswell, J. W. and Creswell, J. D. (2017). Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches. SAGE Publications, Thousand Oaks, 5th edition.
Ford, D. and Parnin, C. (2015). Exploring causes of frustration for software developers. In Proceedings of the 2015 IEEE/ACM 8th International Workshop on Cooperative and Human Aspects of Software Engineering (CHASE), pages 115–116.
Ford, D., Storey, M.-A., Zimmermann, T., Bird, C., Jaffe, S., Houck, B., Nagappan, N., and Parnin, C. (2021). A tale of two cities: Software developers working from home during the covid-19 pandemic. ACM Transactions on Software Engineering and Methodology, 31(2):1–37.
Fuks, H., Raposo, A., Gerosa, M. A., Pimentel, M., Filippo, D., and Lucena, C. J. P. (2011). Teorias e modelos de colaboração. In Pimentel, M. and Fuks, H., editors, Sistemas Colaborativos, pages 16–33. Elsevier, Rio de Janeiro.
Gama, K. and Lacerda, A. (2023). Understanding and supporting neurodiverse software developers in agile teams. In Proceedings of the Brazilian Symposium on Software Engineering (SBES 2023), pages 497–502.
Gama, K., Liebel, G., Goulão, M., Lacerda, A., and Lacerda, C. (2025). A socio-technical grounded theory on the effect of cognitive dysfunctions in the performance of software developers with adhd and autism. In Proceedings of the 47th International Conference on Software Engineering: Software Engineering in Society (ICSE-SEIS 2025), pages 1–12.
Godliauskas, P. and Šmite, D. (2025). The well-being of software engineers: A systematic literature review and a theory. Empirical Software Engineering, 30:35.
Graziotin, D., Fagerholm, F., Wang, X., and Abrahamsson, P. (2018). Happy software developers solve problems better: Psychological measurements in empirical software engineering. Journal of Systems and Software, 140:139–150.
Harvard Business Review (2017). Neurodiversity as a competitive advantage. Available at: [link]. Accessed: February 2026.
Herbsleb, J. D. and Mockus, A. (2003). An empirical study of speed and communication in globally distributed software development. IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering, 29(6):481–494.
Liebel, G., Langlois, N., and Gama, K. (2024). Challenges, strengths, and strategies of software engineers with adhd: A case study. In Proceedings of the 46th International Conference on Software Engineering: Software Engineering in Society (ICSE-SEIS 2024), pages 57–68.
Malone, T. W. and Crowston, K. (1994). The interdisciplinary study of coordination. ACM Computing Surveys, 26(1):87–119.
Mattos, P., Segenreich, D., Saboya, E., Louzã, M., Dias, G., and Romano, M. (2006). Adaptação transcultural para o português da escala adult self-report scale para avaliação do transtorno de déficit de atenção/hiperatividade (tdah) em adultos. Revista de Psiquiatria Clínica, 33(4):188–194.
Morris, M. R., Begel, A., and Wiedermann, B. (2015). Understanding the challenges faced by neurodiverse software engineering employees: Towards a more inclusive and productive technical workforce. In Proceedings of the 17th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers & Accessibility (ASSETS 2015), pages 173–184.
Newman, K., Snay, S., Endres, M., Parikh, M., and Begel, A. (2025). Get me in the groove: A mixed methods study on supporting adhd professional programmers. In Proceedings of the 47th International Conference on Software Engineering: Software Engineering in Society (ICSE-SEIS 2025), pages 1217–1229.
Shull, F., Singer, J., and Sjöberg, D. I. K. (2007). Guide to Advanced Empirical Software Engineering. Springer, London.
Simplify Hire (2022). Ndcc job portal. Available at: [link]. Accessed: February 2026.
Singer, J. (1999). Why Can’t You Be Normal for Once in Your Life? From a “Problem with No Name” to the Emergence of a New Category of Difference. Open University Press, Buckingham, UK.
Storey, M.-A., Houck, B., and Zimmermann, T. (2022). How developers and managers define and trade productivity for quality. In Proceedings of the 15th International Conference on Cooperative and Human Aspects of Software Engineering (CHASE 2022), pages 26–35.
Brown, T. E. (2008). Executive functions: Describing six aspects of a complex syndrome. Attention, pages 12–17.
Cartagena, T., Goelzer, N., Kohl, K., and Marczak, S. (2025). Cognitive mapping in software quality: A theoretical proposal for the inclusion of people with adhd. In Anais do XXIV Simpósio Brasileiro de Qualidade de Software (SBQS), pages 529–539, São José dos Campos, Brasil. Sociedade Brasileira de Computação (SBC).
Clark, H. H. and Brennan, S. E. (1991). Grounding in communication. In Resnick, L. B., Levine, J. M., and Teasley, S. D., editors, Perspectives on Socially Shared Cognition, pages 127–149. American Psychological Association, Washington, DC.
Clarke, A. (2025). Improving software team communication through social interventions in project management tools. In Proceedings of the IEEE/ACM 47th International Conference on Software Engineering: Companion Proceedings, pages 172–174.
Creswell, J. W. and Creswell, J. D. (2017). Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches. SAGE Publications, Thousand Oaks, 5th edition.
Ford, D. and Parnin, C. (2015). Exploring causes of frustration for software developers. In Proceedings of the 2015 IEEE/ACM 8th International Workshop on Cooperative and Human Aspects of Software Engineering (CHASE), pages 115–116.
Ford, D., Storey, M.-A., Zimmermann, T., Bird, C., Jaffe, S., Houck, B., Nagappan, N., and Parnin, C. (2021). A tale of two cities: Software developers working from home during the covid-19 pandemic. ACM Transactions on Software Engineering and Methodology, 31(2):1–37.
Fuks, H., Raposo, A., Gerosa, M. A., Pimentel, M., Filippo, D., and Lucena, C. J. P. (2011). Teorias e modelos de colaboração. In Pimentel, M. and Fuks, H., editors, Sistemas Colaborativos, pages 16–33. Elsevier, Rio de Janeiro.
Gama, K. and Lacerda, A. (2023). Understanding and supporting neurodiverse software developers in agile teams. In Proceedings of the Brazilian Symposium on Software Engineering (SBES 2023), pages 497–502.
Gama, K., Liebel, G., Goulão, M., Lacerda, A., and Lacerda, C. (2025). A socio-technical grounded theory on the effect of cognitive dysfunctions in the performance of software developers with adhd and autism. In Proceedings of the 47th International Conference on Software Engineering: Software Engineering in Society (ICSE-SEIS 2025), pages 1–12.
Godliauskas, P. and Šmite, D. (2025). The well-being of software engineers: A systematic literature review and a theory. Empirical Software Engineering, 30:35.
Graziotin, D., Fagerholm, F., Wang, X., and Abrahamsson, P. (2018). Happy software developers solve problems better: Psychological measurements in empirical software engineering. Journal of Systems and Software, 140:139–150.
Harvard Business Review (2017). Neurodiversity as a competitive advantage. Available at: [link]. Accessed: February 2026.
Herbsleb, J. D. and Mockus, A. (2003). An empirical study of speed and communication in globally distributed software development. IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering, 29(6):481–494.
Liebel, G., Langlois, N., and Gama, K. (2024). Challenges, strengths, and strategies of software engineers with adhd: A case study. In Proceedings of the 46th International Conference on Software Engineering: Software Engineering in Society (ICSE-SEIS 2024), pages 57–68.
Malone, T. W. and Crowston, K. (1994). The interdisciplinary study of coordination. ACM Computing Surveys, 26(1):87–119.
Mattos, P., Segenreich, D., Saboya, E., Louzã, M., Dias, G., and Romano, M. (2006). Adaptação transcultural para o português da escala adult self-report scale para avaliação do transtorno de déficit de atenção/hiperatividade (tdah) em adultos. Revista de Psiquiatria Clínica, 33(4):188–194.
Morris, M. R., Begel, A., and Wiedermann, B. (2015). Understanding the challenges faced by neurodiverse software engineering employees: Towards a more inclusive and productive technical workforce. In Proceedings of the 17th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers & Accessibility (ASSETS 2015), pages 173–184.
Newman, K., Snay, S., Endres, M., Parikh, M., and Begel, A. (2025). Get me in the groove: A mixed methods study on supporting adhd professional programmers. In Proceedings of the 47th International Conference on Software Engineering: Software Engineering in Society (ICSE-SEIS 2025), pages 1217–1229.
Shull, F., Singer, J., and Sjöberg, D. I. K. (2007). Guide to Advanced Empirical Software Engineering. Springer, London.
Simplify Hire (2022). Ndcc job portal. Available at: [link]. Accessed: February 2026.
Singer, J. (1999). Why Can’t You Be Normal for Once in Your Life? From a “Problem with No Name” to the Emergence of a New Category of Difference. Open University Press, Buckingham, UK.
Storey, M.-A., Houck, B., and Zimmermann, T. (2022). How developers and managers define and trade productivity for quality. In Proceedings of the 15th International Conference on Cooperative and Human Aspects of Software Engineering (CHASE 2022), pages 26–35.
Publicado
08/06/2026
Como Citar
CARTAGENA, Tatiana; GOELZER, Natalya; VELLOSO, Gabriel; SOUSA, Andrêus; BERIA, Francielle; KOHL, Karina; MARCZAK, Sabrina; GAMA, Kiev.
A Conceptual Mapping of Communication Demands in Collaborative Software Development: Implications for the Inclusion of Developers with ADHD. In: SIMPÓSIO BRASILEIRO DE SISTEMAS COLABORATIVOS (SBSC), 21. , 2026, Porto Alegre/RS.
Anais [...].
Porto Alegre: Sociedade Brasileira de Computação,
2026
.
p. 464-473.
ISSN 2326-2842.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5753/sbsc.2026.20781.
