Kezia Devathasan

I am a PhD Candidate in Software Engineering at the University of Victoria, and my work resides at the intersection of software engineering and human behaviour.

With an academic foundation in both Psychology and Computer Science, I investigate how cognitive, social, and organizational factors shape the way we build software, from early-stage requirements to collaborative software development and with ongoing considerations for computing education.

Research Projects

Perspective Taking in Complex Software Teams

Perspective Taking in Complex Software Teams

While software failures are often framed as technical shortcomings, many originate from poor decision-making and communication breakdowns. We investigate how cognitive factors like perspective-taking and psychological safety impact a team’s ability to navigate ambiguity and deliver quality software.

read more

Publications

  • Devathasan, K., Samaraweera, J., Damian, D. (April, 2026). “Perspective Taking: Perspective-Taking in Software Engineering: A Study on its Relationship to Team Performance. In 2026 IEEE/ACM 48th International Conference on Software Engineering (Research Track).
  • Devathasan, K. (2025, April). Decoding Diversity: Understanding its Impact on Team Performance in Software Teams. In 2025 IEEE/ACM 47th International Conference on Software Engineering: Companion Proceedings (ICSE-Companion) (pp. 76-80). IEEE.
  • Devathasan, K., Arony, N. N., Murphy-Hill, E., & Damian, D. (2025). Empathy, self-determination and motivation: moderating diversity for enhanced performance in software development teams. Empirical Software Engineering, 30(3), 82.
  • Devathasan, K., & Damian, D. (2025). Psychological Safety and Empathy in Collaborative Learning Environments: A DEI Strategy for Engineering Education. Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS).
  • Devathasan, K., Arony, N. N., & Damian, D. (2024). Beyond diversity: Computing for inclusive software. In Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Software Engineering: Best Practices and Insights (pp. 151-165). Berkeley, CA: Apress.
  • Devathasan, K., Craig, M., Damian, D., & Berg, C. (2024, May). Test Anxiety and Self-Efficacy in a Computer-Based Test Environment. In Proceedings of the 26th Western Canadian Conference on Computing Education (pp. 1-7).
  • Li, Z. S., Arony, N. N., Devathasan, K., Sihag, M., Ernst, N., & Damian, D. (2024, February). Unveiling the life cycle of user feedback: Best practices from software practitioners. In Proceedings of the 46th IEEE/ACM International Conference on Software Engineering (pp. 1-13).
  • Devathasan, K., Arony, N. N., Gama, K., & Damian, D. (2024, June). Deciphering empathy in developer responses: A hybrid approach utilizing the perception action model and automated classification. In 2024 IEEE 32nd International Requirements Engineering Conference Workshops (REW) (pp. 88-94). IEEE.
  • Berg, C., Devathasan, K., & Craig, M. (2024). Test Anxiety, Self-Efficacy & Prior Experience. In Proceedings of the 2024 on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education V. 2 (pp. 796-796).
  • Devathasan, K., Kepler, J., Warawa, J., Penney, A., Tsui, I., & Berg, C. (2023, May). PrairieLearn in CS1: An experience report. In Proceedings of the 25th Western Canadian Conference on Computing Education (pp. 1-2).
  • Arony, N. N., Devathasan, K., Li, Z. S., & Damian, D. (2023, May). Leveraging diversity in software engineering education through community engaged learning and a supportive network. In 2023 IEEE/ACM 45th International Conference on Software Engineering: Software Engineering Education and Training (ICSE-SEET) (pp. 247-258). IEEE.
  • Li, Z. S., Arony, N. N., Devathasan, K., & Damian, D. (2023, May). “Software is the easy part of Software Engineering” – Lessons and Experiences from A Large-Scale, Multi-Team Capstone Course. In 2023 IEEE/ACM 45th International Conference on Software Engineering: Software Engineering Education and Training (ICSE-SEET) (pp. 223-234). IEEE.
  • Sihag, M., Li, Z. S., Dash, A., Arony, N. N., Devathasan, K., Ernst, N., … & Damian, D. (2023, September). A data-driven approach for finding requirements relevant feedback from TikTok and YouTube. In 2023 IEEE 31st International Requirements Engineering Conference (RE) (pp. 111-122). IEEE.
  • Devathasan, K., Berg, C., & Damian, D. (2022, November). The Role of Abstraction in Introductory Programming. In Proceedings of the 2022 ACM SIGPLAN International Symposium on SPLASH-E (pp. 7-13).