Model and methodology for developing empathy: an experience in computer science engineering

Contribution: This article proposes and applies a new systemic 3-D model and a methodology for empathy awareness and development, integrating different partial approaches found in the literature for developing empathy as a transversal competence. Background: Empathy is a competence linked to collaboration and teamwork. Perspective taking (PT) is an important component of empathy and it is key for professionals today. Even though empathy is valued in computer science engineering (CSE) courses, it is not yet fully addressed as an integral part of the training process. Intended Outcomes: Both the model and the methodology are put into practice with a group of first-year CSE students, highlighting the possibilities of the proposal for this course of studies. The experience presented here is an example of a classroom activity in which awareness and PT are addressed, as key components, in relation to the collaborative work toward achieving empathy. Application Design: The methodological proposal is applied to guide educators’ decisions so that they can work on empathy in the classroom. Responses to several standardized and ad-hoc questionnaires by students from two universities are analyzed. Findings: The results revealed low to medium empathy levels in participating students, but a higher perception of their own empathic ability. The proposed methodology allows students to become aware of and develop some initial changes in relation to empathy, particularly in its PT component, through classroom work

Enablers and Barriers of Empathy in Software Developer and User Interaction: A Mixed Methods Case Study

Software engineering (SE) requires developers to collaborate with stakeholders, and understanding their emotions and perspectives is often vital. Empathy is a concept characterising a person's ability to understand and share the feelings of another. However, empathy continues to be an under-researched human aspect in SE. We studied how empathy is practised between developers and end users using a mixed methods case study. We used an empathy test, observations and interviews to collect data, and socio technical grounded theory and descriptive statistics to analyse data. We identified the nature of awareness required to trigger empathy and enablers of empathy. We discovered barriers to empathy and a set of potential strategies to overcome these barriers. We report insights on emerging relationships and present a set of recommendations and potential future works on empathy and SE for software practitioners and SE researchers