“I Felt Pressured to Give 100% All the Time”: How Are Neurodivergent Professionals Being Included in Software Development Teams?
Resumo
Context: As the demand for digital solutions adapted to different user profiles increases, creating more inclusive and diverse software development teams becomes an important initiative to improve software product accessibility. Problem: However, neurodivergent professionals are underrepresented in this area, encountering obstacles from difficulties in communication and collaboration to inadequate software tools, which directly impact their productivity and well-being. Solution: This study seeks to understand the work experiences of neurodivergent professionals acting in different software development roles. A better understanding of their challenges and strategies to deal with them can collaborate to create more inclusive software development teams. IS Theory: We applied the Sociotechnical Theory (STS) to investigate how the social structures of organizations and their respective work technologies influence the inclusion of these professionals. Method: To address this study, we conducted semi-structured interviews with nine neurodivergent professionals in the Software Engineering field and analyzed the results by applying a continuous comparison coding strategy. Results: The results highlighted issues faced by interviewees, the main ones related to difficulties in communication, social interactions, and prejudice related to their diagnosis. Additionally, excessive in work tools became a significant challenge, leading to constant distractions and cognitive overload. This scenario negatively impacts their concentration and overall performance. Contributions and Impact in the IS area: As a contribution, this study presents empirically based recommendations to overcome sociotechnical challenges faced by neurodivergent individuals working in software development teams.
Palavras-chave:
Software Development, Neurodivergent, Inclusion
Referências
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Thayssa A da Rocha, Cleidson de Souza, Luciano Teran, and Marcelle Mota. 2024. Effective Inclusion of People with Disabilities in Software Development Teams. In Proceedings of the 18th ACM/IEEE International Symposium on Empirical Software Engineering and Measurement (Barcelona, Spain) (ESEM ’24). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, 447–453. DOI: 10.1145/3674805.3690749
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Nancy Doyle and Almuth McDowall. 2021. Diamond in the rough? An “empty review” of research into “neurodiversity” and a road map for developing the inclusion agenda. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal 41, 3 (2021), 352–382.
Kiev Gama and Aline Lacerda. 2023. Understanding and Supporting Neurodiverse Software Developers in Agile Teams. In Proceedings of the XXXVII Brazilian Symposium on Software Engineering (Campo Grande, Brazil) (SBES ’23). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, 497–502. DOI: 10.1145/3613372.3613384
Graham Gibbs. 2009. Análise de dados qualitativos: coleção pesquisa qualitativa. Bookman Editora.
Terrell Holmes and Hala Annabi. 2020. The Dark Side of Software Development: Job Stress amongst Autistic Software Developers. DOI: 10.24251/HICSS.2020.730
Kjell Tore Hovik, Jens Egeland, Peter K. Isquith, Gerard Gioia, Erik Winther Skogli, Per Normann Andersen, and Merete Øie. 2017. Distinct Patterns of Everyday Executive Function Problems Distinguish Children With Tourette Syndrome From Children With ADHD or Autism Spectrum Disorders. Journal of Attention Disorders 21, 10 (2017), 811–823. arXiv: DOI: 10.1177/1087054714550336 PMID: 25253683.
Anna Krzeminska and Sally Hawse. 2020. Mainstreaming neurodiversity for an inclusive and sustainable futureworkforce: Autism-spectrum employees. Industry and higher Education: Case studies for sustainable futures (2020), 229–261.
Samuli Laato, Matti Mäntymäki, Najmul Islam, Sami Hyrynsalmi, and Teemu Birkstedt. 2022. Trends and Trajectories in the Software Industry: implications for the future of work. Information Systems Frontiers 25 (04 2022), 1–16. DOI: 10.1007/s10796-022-10267-4
Kathy Leadbitter, Karen Leneh Buckle, Ceri Ellis, and Martijn Dekker. 2021. Autistic self-advocacy and the neurodiversity movement: Implications for autism early intervention research and practice. Frontiers in Psychology 12 (2021), 635690.
Grischa Liebel, Noah Langlois, and Kiev Gama. 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. 57–68.
Meredith Ringel Morris, Andrew Begel, and Ben Wiedermann. 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. 173–184.
Movimento Orgulho Autista Brasil. 2024. Movimento Orgulho Autista Brasil - Sobre Nós. [link] accessed: 11-16-2024.
Mike Oliver. 2013. The social model of disability: Thirty years on. Disability & society 28, 7 (2013), 1024–1026.
Francisco Ortega. 2008. O sujeito cerebral e o movimento da neurodiversidade. Mana 14 (2008), 477–509.
Igor Poncell and Kiev Gama. 2022. Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives in Brazilian Software Development Companies: Comparing the Perspectives of Managers and Developers. In Proceedings of the XXXVI Brazilian Symposium on Software Engineering (Virtual Event, Brazil) (SBES ’22). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, 41–46. DOI: 10.1145/3555228.3555267
Presidência da República. 2015. Lei Brasileira de Inclusão da Pessoa com Deficiência (Estatuto da Pessoa com Deficiência) - Lei nº13.146, de 6 de Julho de 2015. [link] Accessed: 09-16-2024.
Gema Rodríguez-Pérez, Reza Nadri, and Meiyappan Nagappan. 2021. Perceived diversity in software engineering: a systematic literature review. Empirical Software Engineering 26 (2021), 1–38.
Jim Sinclair. 1999. Don’t mourn for us. Autistic Rights Movement UK.
J. Singer. 2017. NeuroDiversity: The Birth of an Idea. Judy Singer. [link]
Michał T Tomczak. 2022. How can the work environment be redesigned to enhance the well-being of individuals with autism? Employee Relations: The International Journal 44, 6 (2022), 1467–1484.
Emmanuelle Walkowiak. 2021. Neurodiversity of the workforce and digital transformation: The case of inclusion of autistic workers at the workplace. Technological Forecasting and Social Change 168 (2021), 120739.
Marc Zao-Sanders and Jack MacKay. 2018. How Timeboxing Works and Why It Will Make You More Productive. [link]. Accessed: 11-21-2024.
Muhammad Ali, Mirit Grabarski, and Marzena Baker. 2024. The influence of neurodiversity management on affective commitment and turnover intention: the role of neurodiversity awareness. Employee Relations: The International Journal 46 (02 2024). DOI: 10.1108/ER-09-2023-0476
Hala Annabi and Jill Locke. 2019. A theoretical framework for investigating the context for creating employment success in information technology for individuals with autism. Journal of Management & Organization 25, 4 (2019), 499–515.
Louise Bradley, Rebecca Shaw, Simon Baron-Cohen, and Sarah Cassidy. 2021. Autistic Adults’ Experiences of Camouflaging and Its Perceived Impact on Mental Health. Autism in Adulthood 3, 4 (2021), 320–329. arXiv: DOI: 10.1089/aut.2020.0071 PMID: 36601637.
Sabrina Burtscher and Kathrin Gerling. 2024. Neurodivergence and Work in Human-Computer Interaction: Mapping the Research Landscape. In Proceedings of the 3rd Annual Meeting of the Symposium on Human-Computer Interaction for Work (Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom) (CHIWORK ’24). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, Article 5, 14 pages. DOI: 10.1145/3663384.3663386
Barbara Cimatti. 2016. Definition, development, assessment of soft skills and their role for the quality of organizations and enterprises. International Journal for Quality Research 10 (03 2016), 97–130. DOI: 10.18421/IJQR10.01-05
Elayne Coakes, Dianne Willis, and Raymond Lloyd-Jones. 2012. The new sociotech: Graffiti on the long wall. Springer Science & Business Media.
Emma Costello, Sara Kilbride, Zoe Milne, Paul Clarke, Murat Yilmaz, and Silvana Togneri MacMahon. 2021. A professional career with autism: Findings from a literature review in the software engineering domain. In Systems, Software and Services Process Improvement: 28th European Conference, EuroSPI 2021, Krems, Austria, September 1–3, 2021, Proceedings 28. Springer, 349–360.
Thayssa A da Rocha, Cleidson de Souza, Luciano Teran, and Marcelle Mota. 2024. Effective Inclusion of People with Disabilities in Software Development Teams. In Proceedings of the 18th ACM/IEEE International Symposium on Empirical Software Engineering and Measurement (Barcelona, Spain) (ESEM ’24). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, 447–453. DOI: 10.1145/3674805.3690749
Maitraye Das, John Tang, Kathryn E Ringland, and Anne Marie Piper. 2021. Towards accessible remote work: Understanding work-from-home practices of neurodivergent professionals. Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction 5, CSCW1 (2021), 1–30.
Nancy Doyle. 2020. Neurodiversity at work: a biopsychosocial model and the impact on working adults. British medical bulletin 135, 1 (2020), 108–125.
Nancy Doyle and Almuth McDowall. 2021. Diamond in the rough? An “empty review” of research into “neurodiversity” and a road map for developing the inclusion agenda. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal 41, 3 (2021), 352–382.
Kiev Gama and Aline Lacerda. 2023. Understanding and Supporting Neurodiverse Software Developers in Agile Teams. In Proceedings of the XXXVII Brazilian Symposium on Software Engineering (Campo Grande, Brazil) (SBES ’23). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, 497–502. DOI: 10.1145/3613372.3613384
Graham Gibbs. 2009. Análise de dados qualitativos: coleção pesquisa qualitativa. Bookman Editora.
Terrell Holmes and Hala Annabi. 2020. The Dark Side of Software Development: Job Stress amongst Autistic Software Developers. DOI: 10.24251/HICSS.2020.730
Kjell Tore Hovik, Jens Egeland, Peter K. Isquith, Gerard Gioia, Erik Winther Skogli, Per Normann Andersen, and Merete Øie. 2017. Distinct Patterns of Everyday Executive Function Problems Distinguish Children With Tourette Syndrome From Children With ADHD or Autism Spectrum Disorders. Journal of Attention Disorders 21, 10 (2017), 811–823. arXiv: DOI: 10.1177/1087054714550336 PMID: 25253683.
Anna Krzeminska and Sally Hawse. 2020. Mainstreaming neurodiversity for an inclusive and sustainable futureworkforce: Autism-spectrum employees. Industry and higher Education: Case studies for sustainable futures (2020), 229–261.
Samuli Laato, Matti Mäntymäki, Najmul Islam, Sami Hyrynsalmi, and Teemu Birkstedt. 2022. Trends and Trajectories in the Software Industry: implications for the future of work. Information Systems Frontiers 25 (04 2022), 1–16. DOI: 10.1007/s10796-022-10267-4
Kathy Leadbitter, Karen Leneh Buckle, Ceri Ellis, and Martijn Dekker. 2021. Autistic self-advocacy and the neurodiversity movement: Implications for autism early intervention research and practice. Frontiers in Psychology 12 (2021), 635690.
Grischa Liebel, Noah Langlois, and Kiev Gama. 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. 57–68.
Meredith Ringel Morris, Andrew Begel, and Ben Wiedermann. 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. 173–184.
Movimento Orgulho Autista Brasil. 2024. Movimento Orgulho Autista Brasil - Sobre Nós. [link] accessed: 11-16-2024.
Mike Oliver. 2013. The social model of disability: Thirty years on. Disability & society 28, 7 (2013), 1024–1026.
Francisco Ortega. 2008. O sujeito cerebral e o movimento da neurodiversidade. Mana 14 (2008), 477–509.
Igor Poncell and Kiev Gama. 2022. Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives in Brazilian Software Development Companies: Comparing the Perspectives of Managers and Developers. In Proceedings of the XXXVI Brazilian Symposium on Software Engineering (Virtual Event, Brazil) (SBES ’22). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, 41–46. DOI: 10.1145/3555228.3555267
Presidência da República. 2015. Lei Brasileira de Inclusão da Pessoa com Deficiência (Estatuto da Pessoa com Deficiência) - Lei nº13.146, de 6 de Julho de 2015. [link] Accessed: 09-16-2024.
Gema Rodríguez-Pérez, Reza Nadri, and Meiyappan Nagappan. 2021. Perceived diversity in software engineering: a systematic literature review. Empirical Software Engineering 26 (2021), 1–38.
Jim Sinclair. 1999. Don’t mourn for us. Autistic Rights Movement UK.
J. Singer. 2017. NeuroDiversity: The Birth of an Idea. Judy Singer. [link]
Michał T Tomczak. 2022. How can the work environment be redesigned to enhance the well-being of individuals with autism? Employee Relations: The International Journal 44, 6 (2022), 1467–1484.
Emmanuelle Walkowiak. 2021. Neurodiversity of the workforce and digital transformation: The case of inclusion of autistic workers at the workplace. Technological Forecasting and Social Change 168 (2021), 120739.
Marc Zao-Sanders and Jack MacKay. 2018. How Timeboxing Works and Why It Will Make You More Productive. [link]. Accessed: 11-21-2024.
Publicado
19/05/2025
Como Citar
MENEZES, Nicoly da Silva; ROCHA, Thayssa Águila da; CAMELO, Lucas Samuel Santiago; MOTA, Marcelle Pereira.
“I Felt Pressured to Give 100% All the Time”: How Are Neurodivergent Professionals Being Included in Software Development Teams?. In: SIMPÓSIO BRASILEIRO DE SISTEMAS DE INFORMAÇÃO (SBSI), 21. , 2025, Recife/PE.
Anais [...].
Porto Alegre: Sociedade Brasileira de Computação,
2025
.
p. 525-534.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5753/sbsi.2025.246560.
