We’re a team of scientists and Developer Experience professionals studying how software teams work, learn, and innovate. We publish original research projects that use the best science on developer productivity, learning, and wellbeing to provide models for human-centered software development that radically progress Developer Experience. We’re on a mission to share developers’ voices with the world!
Cat Hicks, PhD
Social & Data Scientist
Cat Hicks is a social science leader in tech with expertise leading applied research teams to explore complex areas of human behavior, empirical intervention, and evidence science. Cat is a research affiliate in STEM education research at UC San Diego and an advocate for increasing education access. She holds a Ph.D. in Quantitative Experimental Psychology from UC San Diego, was an inaugural Fellow in the UC San Diego Design Lab, and has led research at organizations such as Google and Khan Academy.
Carol Lee leverages her expertise in mental health and thoughtful measurement to study how developers cope and thrive through stressful circumstances. Carol has over a decade of experience leading academic and industry research in clinical health, measurement, and human behavior. Carol serves as a research fellow at the Integrated Behavioral Health Research Institute and as a clinical science advisor for Bravely Mental Health. She holds a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from UMass Boston.
John Flournoy is a psychological science methodologist eager to enhance the well-being of technologists. His penchant for statistical rigor, conceptual clarity, and transparent practice has guided his work with scientists at all levels. In his experience, people are often more capable than they think and can learn most anything. John has a Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Oregon, and most recently was a research associate at Harvard University working on adolescent developmental neuroscience. He began programming as a teenager, reading about C in bookstores.
Kristen Foster-Marks is passionate about applying evidence-based science to help software teams learn, work, and thrive. She combines eight years in software development and engineering leadership with a background in language learning pedagogy and classroom-based research to develop innovative workshops, interventions, and curricula that promote effective behavior change on software teams. Kristen actively contributes to the software engineering and Developer Experience communities through writing articles and giving conference talks.
