Yazılım sektöründe yetenek yönetimi için uzman sistem geliştirme
An expert system for talent management in the software industry
Yazar: EMİNE KURUOĞLU
Danışman: PROF. DR. MUSTAFA ERSEL KAMAŞAK
İstanbul Teknik Üniversitesi / Lisansüstü Eğitim Enstitüsü / Bilgisayar Mühendisliği Ana Bilim Dalı / Bilgisayar Mühendisliği Bilim Dalı
Derece: Doktora, 2024
Konu: Bilgisayar Mühendisliği Bilimleri-Bilgisayar ve Kontrol = Computer Engineering and Computer Science and Control

Özet:
Yazılım sektöründe çalışan bireylerin  kişilik özellikleri bu kişilerin kariyer gelişimi ve yazılım geliştirme projelerinin  sonuçlarını etkiler. Bu nedenle kişilerin yazılım sektöründe hangi alanda daha başarılı olacakları, kişilik özellikleri göz önüne alınarak tahmin edilebilir.
Çoğu kişilik testi sosyal bilimlerde yoğun kullanıldığı ve sosyal-psikometrik sorulara dayandığı için diğer mühendislik disiplerinde olduğu gibi yazılım mühendisleri tarafından da sorgulanır. Hatta benimsenilmediği ve inanılmadığı için manipule edilebilir. Çoğu yazılım mühendisi ya da adayı bu tür kişilik envanterlerinin yapısını kolayca çözerler. Sonra da testin sounucun nasıl çıkmasını istiyorlarsa, testi o şekilde manipule edebilirler. Hatta, geçerlilik ve güvenlirlik analizlerini de yanıltarak testin sonucunun geçerli ve güvenilir çıkmasını sağlayabilirler. Yani testin sonucunda, olduklarından farklı görünmeyi sağlayabilirler. Ayrıca bu testlerin soru sayısı çok fazladır ve yazılım projelerinde rol alan  kişiler bu kadar çok soruyu yanıtlamaktan sıkılmaktadır.
Bu tezin başlatılma gerekçi de yazılım mühendisliği alanında çalışan mühendisler için yeni bir kişilik testi geliştirilmesidir. Bu kişilik testi ile yazılım alanında çalışan mühendislerin inanacağı ve doğru şekilde cevap vererek kendi kariyerlerine yardımcı olacak sonuçların alınması hedeflenmektedir.
Bu tez çalışmasında, yazılım  mühendislerinin yazılım projelerinde doğru pozisyonlarda çalışmalarını belirleyebilmek amacı ile, "Yazılım Sektöründe Yetenek Yönetimi için Uzman Sistem" geliştirilmiştir. Bu uzman sistemin en belirgin özelliği yazılım projesinde rol alan kişilerin, kişilik veya yetenek analizine girme rahatsızlığını azaltacak soruların geliştirilmiş olmasıdır.
Bu yeni geliştirilen uzman sistemde sorular, yazılım projelerindeki görevlerle ve bu görevlerde çalışan kişilerin, bu görevi yaparken ki doğal davranış ve tutumları ile  alakalı olacak şekilde tasarlanmıştır.
Yeni geliştirilen teste "Jung Tabanlı Yazılım Yetenek Yönetimi (JBSTM)" ismi verilmiştir. Testin  geçerliliği için uyum geçerliliği tercih edilmiştir. Uyum geçerliliğinde karşılaştırma yapılacak referans, test olarak yaygın kullanılan ve literatürde geçerliliğine dair bir çok yayın bulunan "KEIRSEY Mizaç Sıralayıcı (KEIRSEY)" seçilmiştir.
JBSTM  ve KEIRSEY testlerinin karşılatırılması,  üç pilot çalışma (üç ayrı soru bankası-sürüm) ve üç ayrı katılımcı profili ile farklı tarihlerde gerçekleştirilmiştir.
Üç pilot çalışma arasında katılımcı sayısı ve uygulama ortamı nedeni en sağlıklı sonuçları 2. pilot çalışmada elde edildiği değerlendirilmiştir.
2. Pilot çalışmada, 20 yazılım endüstrisi çalışanına, JBSTM ve KEIRSEY testleri  aynı oturumda  rastgele sıra ile uygulanmıştır. Testlerden sonra katılımcılara yine aynı oturumda iki testi niteliksel olarak karşılaştırmak için ek bir anket uygulanmıştır.

E / I, T / F ve J / P'deki KEIRSEY ve JBSTM testleri orta derecede bir korelasyon göstermiştir (E / I boyutu için r = 0,42, T / F boyutu için r = 0,51 ve J / P boyutu için r = 0,47). Sadece S / N boyutu için r düşüktür (r = 0.1). JBTSM ve KEIRSEY testlerinin sonuçları, test tamamlanma süreleri açısından karşılaştırılmıştır. Ortalama olarak, 20 katılımcı yedi dakikada JBTSM 'ye cevap verirken, KEIRSEY testine 16 dakikada cevap verebilmişlerdir. Bu sonuç, katılımcıların KEIRSEY testine cevap vermek için harcadıkları sürenin, JBTSM'ye cevap vermek için harcadıkları sürenin neredeyse iki katı olduğunu göstermiştir. 
Karşılaştırma anketinin sonuçları kullanılarak ayrıca  JBTSM ve KEIRSEY testleri rahat hissetme, uygunluk ve fayda açısından karşılaştırılmıştır. JBSTM testi, KEIRSEY'e göre, rahat hissetme, uygunluk ve fayda açısından katılımcılardan olumlu geribildirimler almıştır.
Sonuç olarak, psikometrik testlerdeki soru sayıları nedeniyle kolayca sıkılabilen, çoğu içe dönük ve analitik yazılım mühendislerinin manipülasyonlarını önlemek için  geliştirilen JBTSM, geçerlik ve güvenirlik açısından oldukça iyi sonuçlar vermiştir. Ayrıca beklendiği gibi daha kısa sürede, daha  kolay, faydalı ve rahat olması açısından oldukça olumlu sonuçlar vermiştir. Bu bağlamda, JBSTM in yüksek motivasyonla çalışmaya değer olduğu sonucuna varılabilir.

Abstract:
Personality traits influence the success of software development projects. Therefore, identifying individuals' suitability for different roles within the software sector can be determined by their personalities.
However, most personality tests are questioned by software engineers as they are based on social-psychometric questions and heavily optimized for social science studies. Some engineers may even manipulate these tests due to lack of adoption and belief in their validity, thus potentially skewing validity and reliability analyses to yield desired outcomes. Many software engineers or candidates easily decipher the structure of such personality inventories and subsequently manipulate the test to reflect the results they desire. This disbelief in the test and the process can mislead validity and reliability analyses, allowing the test results to appear valid and reliable, but not truly reflecting the individuals' actual personalities. This is because they do not believe in the test or the process. Moreover, these tests often contain a large number of questions, leading individuals involved in software projects to become weary of answering so many questions.
Observing the misleading results of using such tests in the field of software engineering, the focus of this thesis is to develop a test and question bank in such a way that software engineers believe in the test, provide accurate answers, and consequently excel in their software engineering careers while enjoying career advancement.
In this thesis, an "Expert System for Talent Management in the Software Sector" has been developed to determine the correct positions for software engineers to work in software projects. The most notable feature of this expert system is the development of questions that do not make participants feel like they are undergoing a talent analysis.
The questions in this newly developed expert system are designed to be relevant to the tasks in software projects and the natural behaviors and attitudes of individuals working in these tasks.
The newly developed test is named "Jung-Based Software Talent Management (JBSTM)". Compliance validity was preferred for the validity of the test. For compliance validity comparison, the "KEIRSEYTemperament Sorter (KEIRSEY)", which is widely used as a test and has many publications on its validity in the literature, was selected.
The comparison of JBSTM and KEIRSEY tests was conducted through three pilot studies (three separate question banks-versions) with three different participant profiles at different times.
The results of the 2nd pilot study provided more reliable and interpretable results due to the number of participants and the application environment. Therefore, the 2nd pilot results were used in the data analysis and results of the article published as the output of this thesis.

In the 2nd pilot, JBSTM and KEIRSEY tests were randomly administered to 20 software industry workers in the same session. After the tests, another survey was conducted in the same session to compare the two tests.
KEIRSEY and JBSTM tests showed moderate correlations in the E/I (r = 0.42), T/F (r = 0.51), and J/P (r = 0.47) dimensions. Only the S/N dimension had a low correlation (r = 0.1). The results of JBTSM and KEIRSEY tests were compared in terms of test completion times. On average, while 20 participants answered JBSTM in seven minutes, they were only able to answer the KEIRSEY test in 16 minutes. This result indicated that participants spent almost twice as much time answering the KEIRSEY test compared to the JBSTM test.
When the correlation of the test with the KEIRSEY test based on Jung, which is widely used for the validity of the test, the validity correlation was obtained in the E/I, T/F and J/P types. In S/N, the correlation could not be obtained. Intentionally or unintentionally, the crisis period during the test and the participants' worries about their careers are thought to cause N-weighted marks on the test. From the feedback given by the participants, it was concluded that they had concerns that would affect their career life and marked them as they wanted to be seen, not as they were. The feedback of the participants after the application also supports this opinion. Therefore, it will be better to develop the questions in such a way that the subjects will not be able to feel whether they are S or N.
It was also found that the time participants spent responding to the KEIRSEY test was almost twice the time they spent responding to the JBTSM. This result can be considered as a confirmation for our claim. Software engineers do not prefer these tests because psychometric tests contain too many questions and require too long to answer. The study results showed that participants found JBSTM easier and more comfortable. In addition, the participants stated that they felt more comfortable when responding to JBSTM. They also think that JBSTM is much more useful for the software industry than the KEIRSEY test. These are promising and important results that strengthen the purpose of the development of JBSTM.
The reason for setting out while developing this thesis is that a test should be developed so that software engineers or those who work in roles such as analyst, designer, architect, programmer, teamsters, tester, maintenance programmer involved in a software project would believe in this test and not feel uncomfortable while they are answering the test.
The JBSTM test was developed and implemented in pilot studies and versions. The article was written gradually based on the data from the 2nd pilot study and 2nd version of the proposed test. Considering whether it is possible to maintain a positive approach and trust by software engineers to achieve the intended goal of the test, a method that adapts to the natural environment of the software engineering project was developed. Additionally, feedback was obtained from participants regarding the test and questions. Positive feedback was received from participants in terms of test duration, comfort, suitability, and usefulness.
As a result, JBSTM has yielded quite good results for software engineers, most of whom are introverted and analytical, who may get bored with psychometric tests and to prevent manipulations. Furthermore, as expected, JBSTM was found to be easier, more useful, and participants felt more comfortable answering the test, completing it in a shorter time.
The developed test will be widely used in the software engineering sector. It will be a useful tool in determining needs such as correct recruitment, assigning the right person to the right task in a software project, switching to a different role, determining the career roadmap of software engineers, and providing mentorship support. Additionally, it can be used during software engineering education to analyze the personality structures of both students and academics, supporting career paths. It can also assist academics in understanding which students are close to software engineering roles. This is because it consists of acceptable and believable questions by software engineers, and the results were obtained from the survey results of participants who participated in pilot studies. Pilot studies are conducted in participants natural environment by taking the human resources departments of the participants' companies and  privacy of companies were protected. There is a limitation for it to take place with 20 participants in a corporate environment. When an appropriate environment with more people is provided, it may be desirable to study and discuss the results more effectively. Remote work participation and the onset of Covid have also created implementation restrictions.
The developed test can also be applied to other sectors and other engineering fields. Similar analyses can be made by creating the question structure according to the business dynamics and practices of the relevant sector. Indeed, although not technical, it is possible to develop such a test for every business area that has a project management discipline.
Item validity, scale development, validity, and reliability studies are based on test development, but mostly fall into the field of social sciences and are not very feasible during the duration of a thesis due to requiring a very long time and a lot of data. Therefore, in this thesis, it was aimed to ensure the validity of JBSTM based on the widely used KEIRSEY test in the literature and on the internet, using the compliance validity method.
Besides, the requirement for pilot study participants to be proficient in English has also been brought up, as the KEIRSEY test is in English. Another scenario could have been the translation of KEIRSEY into Turkish, which could have been the subject of another validity and reliability study. Therefore, English proficiency of the participants also brought a limitation to participation in the pilot study.
In the results, a validity correlation was obtained in the E/I (Extraversion/Introversion), T/F (Thinking/Feeling), and J/P (Judgment/Perception) dimensions, and the absence of a valid correlation in the S/N (Sensing/Intuition) dimensions may be due to the fact that the participants' results will negatively affect their company and career lives. It may be appropriate to work on questions in the S/N dimension and develop these questions in such a way that they do not feel that they will be S or N.
Ultimately, the reason for embarking on the development of this thesis was to create a test that individuals working in roles such as software engineers, analysts, designers, architects, programmers, team leaders, testers, maintenance programmers, and similar positions would believe in and comfortably undertake. The goal of developing the test with this in mind has been achieved. Feedback from the opinions of the participants in the pilot tests that they trust the JBSTM, that it lasts shorter, that they feel more comfortable, that it is more convenient and more useful, supports the thesis' argument. In this context, it can be concluded that JBSTM is a tool that requires high motivation to work with.