The effectiveness of testing is a major determinant of software quality. It is believed that individual testers vary in their effectiveness, but so far the factors contributing to this variation have not been well studied. In this study, we examined whether personality traits, as described by the five-factor model, affect performance on a software testing task. ICT students were given a small software testing task at which their effectiveness was assessed using several different criteria, including bug location rate, weighted fault density, and bug report quality. Their personality was assessed using the NEO PI-3 personality questionnaire. We then compared testing performance according to individual and aggregate measures against different five-factor personality traits. Several weak correlations between two of these personality traits, extraversion and conscientiousness, and testing effectiveness were found.
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted almost every sphere of life. Higher education in Australia was similarly majorly impacted, and due to the sudden necessity of ensuring physical distancing, on campus teaching became impossible. Most of the higher educational institutes in Australia moved to using a distance education mode to continue delivery of teaching with barely a few weeks warning. This article presents experiences moving a data structures and networking course taught to Software Engineering students at an Australian university during COVID-19 pandemic to online delivery. Due to the nature of the course and student cohort, a number of challenges were faced teaching the course in online mode compared to that for which it was designed. We summarize key lessons learned and propose some guidelines for future course design to take advantage of online learning while maintaining learning outcomes.
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