Student Conference Proceedings
Vol. 1 No. 1 (2025): Stud Conf Proc
https://doi.org/10.18416/SCP.2025.1936

Medical Informatics, ID 1936

Examining Software Developers’ Cognitive Load During Daily Activities with Wearables

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Annemarie Uhlig (Study program Medical Informatics, Universität zu Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany), Charlotte Brandebusemeyer (Hasso Plattner Institute, University of Potsdam), Fabian Stolp (Hasso Plattner Institute, University of Potsdam), Hawzhin Hozhabr Pour (Institute of Medical Informatics, Universität zu Lübeck), Bert Arnrich (Hasso Plattner Institute, University of Potsdam)

Copyright (c) 2025 Annemarie Uhlig; Charlotte Brandebusemeyer, Fabian Stolp, Hawzhin Hozhabr Pour, Bert Arnrich

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Abstract

In the dynamic field of software development, deadline-driven projects and the constant demand for innovation often result in an underestimated burden: cognitive load. Traditional methods, e.g., questionnaires, capture the subjectively perceived cognitive load in a time- and situation-dependent manner. However, wearable sensors could provide an objective and continuous evaluation of cognitive load in everyday work situations. Our exploratory data analysis employs a holistic approach, using recorded multi-modal physiological signals during software development-typical tasks from four participants who also filled in a NASA TLX questionnaire. Following data cleaning and a comprehensive analysis, a relation between perceived cognitive load and psychophysiological data was identified using metrics such as event-related synchronization.

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