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Making Software Development More Diverse and Inclusive: Key Themes, Challenges, and Future Directions

Sonja M. Hyrynsalmi, Sebastian Baltes, Chris Brown, Rafael Prikladnicki, Gema Rodriguez-Perez, Alexander Serebrenik, Jocelyn Simmonds, Bianca Trinkenreich, Yi Wang, Grischa Liebel

TL;DR

Software development teams often lack diversity, risking biased designs and unsafe technology for diverse user groups. The authors synthesize insights from a 2023 SE workshop using the 1-2-4-ALL method to identify four main research themes (methodologies/metrics, intersectionality, knowledge transfer, socioeconomic understanding) and two cross-cutting AI themes, forming a 2030 roadmap. They present four scenarios (two utopian, two dystopian) to illustrate potential futures and outline concrete research goals for researchers and practitioners. The roadmap emphasizes mixed-methods measurement, cross-sector knowledge transfer, and integration of large-scale socioeconomic data, while cautions about AI-induced harms and opportunities in SE education and practice.

Abstract

Introduction: Digital products increasingly reshape industries, influencing human behavior and decision-making. However, the software development teams developing these systems often lack diversity, which may lead to designs that overlook the needs, equal treatment or safety of diverse user groups. These risks highlight the need for fostering diversity and inclusion in software development to create safer, more equitable technology. Method: This research is based on insights from an academic meeting in June 2023 involving 23 software engineering researchers and practitioners. We used the collaborative discussion method 1-2-4-ALL as a systematic research approach and identified six themes around the theme challenges and opportunities to improve Software Developer Diversity and Inclusion (SDDI). We identified benefits, harms, and future research directions for the four main themes. Then, we discuss the remaining two themes, Artificial Intelligence & SDDI and AI & Computer Science education, which have a cross-cutting effect on the other themes. Results: This research explores the key challenges and research opportunities for promoting SDDI, providing a roadmap to guide both researchers and practitioners. We underline that research around SDDI requires a constant focus on maximizing benefits while minimizing harms, especially to vulnerable groups. As a research community, we must strike this balance in a responsible way.

Making Software Development More Diverse and Inclusive: Key Themes, Challenges, and Future Directions

TL;DR

Software development teams often lack diversity, risking biased designs and unsafe technology for diverse user groups. The authors synthesize insights from a 2023 SE workshop using the 1-2-4-ALL method to identify four main research themes (methodologies/metrics, intersectionality, knowledge transfer, socioeconomic understanding) and two cross-cutting AI themes, forming a 2030 roadmap. They present four scenarios (two utopian, two dystopian) to illustrate potential futures and outline concrete research goals for researchers and practitioners. The roadmap emphasizes mixed-methods measurement, cross-sector knowledge transfer, and integration of large-scale socioeconomic data, while cautions about AI-induced harms and opportunities in SE education and practice.

Abstract

Introduction: Digital products increasingly reshape industries, influencing human behavior and decision-making. However, the software development teams developing these systems often lack diversity, which may lead to designs that overlook the needs, equal treatment or safety of diverse user groups. These risks highlight the need for fostering diversity and inclusion in software development to create safer, more equitable technology. Method: This research is based on insights from an academic meeting in June 2023 involving 23 software engineering researchers and practitioners. We used the collaborative discussion method 1-2-4-ALL as a systematic research approach and identified six themes around the theme challenges and opportunities to improve Software Developer Diversity and Inclusion (SDDI). We identified benefits, harms, and future research directions for the four main themes. Then, we discuss the remaining two themes, Artificial Intelligence & SDDI and AI & Computer Science education, which have a cross-cutting effect on the other themes. Results: This research explores the key challenges and research opportunities for promoting SDDI, providing a roadmap to guide both researchers and practitioners. We underline that research around SDDI requires a constant focus on maximizing benefits while minimizing harms, especially to vulnerable groups. As a research community, we must strike this balance in a responsible way.
Paper Structure (14 sections, 4 figures, 4 tables)

This paper contains 14 sections, 4 figures, 4 tables.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Research Process
  3. Four Scenarios for 2030
  4. Results: Avoiding Undesirable Scenarios
  5. Methodologies and Metrics
  6. Methods
  7. Metrics
  8. Intersectionality
  9. Knowledge Transfer
  10. Connections to Socioeconomic Understanding
  11. Discussion
  12. An Agenda of SDDI
  13. The Impact of AI on SDDI
  14. Conclusions

Figures (4)

  • Figure 1: Overview of our 1-2-4-ALL process for understanding opportunities for SDDI through SE Research
  • Figure 2: Overview of the process for creating the SE 2030 Roadmap for SDDI. The process started from NII Shonan meeting, continued for the first version presented in SE 2030 Workshop and insights from there led to the final roadmap.
  • Figure 3: Quadruple helix
  • Figure 4: SE 2030 Roadmap for SDDI