Making Gender-Inclusive Practices Actionable: Evaluating a Research-Informed Computing Education Toolkit
Alina BerrySusan McKeeverBrenda MurphySarah Jane Delany
Sep 2026
Human-computer Interaction
Abstract
The persistent gender imbalance in computing remains a global concern, and universities offer a key part of the pipeline to address it. Although research has identified practices that support under-represented student groups, translating this evidence into actionable guidance remains challenging. This paper first presents a novel web- based toolkit (TechMate) designed to address this gap by helping computing educators implement gender- inclusive initiatives through practical research-informed guidance. The toolkit defines over 25 actions, ranging from operational to strategic, and provides case studies and implementation resources. Second, this work reports on the evaluation of TechMate, capturing educators first impressions of its usefulness and usability through authentic tasks, and eliciting unanticipated insights about structural barriers to gender-inclusive practice in computing higher education. Eighteen computing educators of varying seniority from eight universities in Ireland assessed the toolkit using nine research-driven attributes: four usefulness measures (novelty, relevance, trustworthiness, actionability) and five usability measures (effectiveness, aesthetics, navigation, terminology, user satisfaction). Data was analysed using mixed methods: deductive coding, quantitative sentiment scoring, and inductive thematic analysis. Educators rated TechMate highly for user satisfaction and praised its novelty and trustworthiness, with over 60% of participants reporting positively on all attributes, suggesting that research -informed tools can be designed for real-world use. Thematic analysis highlighted other challenges, including women students isolation, institutional resistance to change, and the scarcity of women role models, while also surfacing proposed solutions such as leveraging student ambassadors and fostering supportive learning environments.
Agile - denoting "the quality of being agile, readiness for motion, nimbleness, activity, dexterity in motion" - software development methods are attempting to offer an answer to the eager business community asking for lighter weight along with faster and nimbler software development processes. This is especially the case with the rapidly growing and volatile Internet software industry as well as for the emerging mobile application environment. The new agile methods have evoked substantial amount of literature and debates. However, academic research on the subject is still scarce, as most of existing publications are written by practitioners or consultants. The aim of this publication is to begin filling this gap by systematically reviewing the existing literature on agile software development methodologies. This publication has three purposes. First, it proposes a definition and a classification of agile software development approaches. Second, it analyses ten software development methods that can be characterized as being "agile" against the defined criterion. Third, it compares these methods and highlights their similarities and differences. Based on this analysis, future research needs are identified and discussed.
P. Abrahamsson, O. Salo, Jussi Ronkainen et al.· arXiv.org· 728 citations· ⚡54
Context: Software startups are newly created companies with no operating history and fast in producing cutting-edge technologies. These companies develop software under highly uncertain conditions, tackling fast-growing markets under severe lack of resources. Therefore, software startups present a unique combination of characteristics which pose several challenges to software development activities. Objective: This study aims to structure and analyze the literature on software development in startup companies, determining thereby the potential for technology transfer and identifying software development work practices reported by practitioners and researchers. Method: We conducted a systematic mapping study, developing a classification schema, ranking the selected primary studies according their rigor and relevance, and analyzing reported software development work practices in startups. Results: A total of 43 primary studies were identified and mapped, synthesizing the available evidence on software development in startups. Only 16 studies are entirely dedicated to software development in startups, of which 10 result in a weak contribution (advice and implications (6); lesson learned (3); tool (1)). Nineteen studies focus on managerial and organizational factors. Moreover, only 9 studies exhibit high scientific rigor and relevance. From the reviewed primary studies, 213 software engineering work practices were extracted, categorized and analyzed. Conclusion: This mapping study provides the first systematic exploration of the state-of-art on software startup research. The existing body of knowledge is limited to a few high quality studies. Furthermore, the results indicate that software engineering work practices are chosen opportunistically, adapted and configured to provide value under the constrains imposed by the startup context.
Nicolò Paternoster, Carmine Giardino, M. Unterkalmsteiner et al.· Information and Software Tec...· 394 citations· ⚡54
A new method, called CW-Net, translates the reasoning process of an autonomous vehicle’s AI system into understandable concepts that explain its behavior.
