Hi! I am Mark, currently a PhD candidate in software engineering at Delft University of Technology. I research the interplay of social and technical aspects of software engineering, focusing on software quality and testing practices. I worked as a software engineer for multiple open source software projects for some years, which is why I am particularly interested in the diverse human aspects of cumbersome processes that lead to a finished software product.

Are you a software developer with experience in software testing and are you interested in my research? Want to share your stories? Then please reach out!

My Current location: Delft, Europe
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Publication

Deconstructing Sentimental Stack Overflow Posts Through Interviews

Exploring the Case of Software Testing

https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2304.11280

The analysis of sentimental posts about software testing on Stack Overflow reveals that motivation and commitment of developers to use software testing methods is not only influenced by tools and technology. Rather, attitudes are also influenced by socio-technical factors. No prior studies have attempted to talk with Stack Overflow users about the sentimental posts that they write, yet,......

April 22, 2023

· Mark Swillus · Andy Zaidman

Publication

Sentiment Overflow in the Testing Stack

Analysing Sentimental Testing Posts on Stack Overflow

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jss.2023.111804

Software testing is an integral part of modern software engineering practice. Past research has not only underlined its significance, but also revealed its multi-faceted nature. The practice of software testing and its adoption is influenced by many factors that go beyond tools or technology. This paper sets out to investigate the context of software testing from the practitioners' point of......

February 02, 2023

· Mark Swillus · Andy Zaidman

Publication

Let the Finger Pointing Begin

Sentiment Overflow in the Testing Stack

We know that many software projects do not adopt testing practices. But we still lack understanding of why practitioners do not test. I argue that filling this knowledge gap is required in order to take the right steps to tackle the lack of testing. I even go further and challenge tool developers and advocates of testing practices to reflect on how their effort is addressing this ”why?”. If......

September 12, 2022

· Mark Swillus