Hashini Gunatilake
Software Engineering Researcher | Enthusiast of Human-Centric Innovation
Research Interests: Human-centric software engineering with a focus on the human, socio-technical, and cognitive dimensions of software development, empirical software engineering, socio-technical grounded theory, the intersection of software engineering and psychology, information systems design, human-computer interaction, and diversity and inclusion.
I am a passionate and self-driven researcher with a keen interest in understanding the human elements of software engineering and their role in fostering collaborative and innovative technological solutions. I am currently pursuing a PhD in Software Engineering at Monash University as part of the HumaniSE Lab, under the supervision of Professor John Grundy, Professor Rashina Hoda, and Dr. Ingo Mueller. My research explores the role of empathy in developer-stakeholder interactions within software engineering, investigating how empathy influences these interactions and identifying ways to improve software engineering processes and outcomes through empathetic practices. With a strong foundation in qualitative and mixed-methods research, I enjoy working at the intersection of software engineering and psychology. My research contributions have been published in leading software engineering journals, including ACM Transactions on Software Engineering and Methodology (TOSEM), Information and Software Technology (IST), and the Journal of Systems and Software (JSS).
During my PhD, I have gained teaching experience as a Teaching Associate in the Faculty of IT, Monash University. I have also worked as a research assistant at Monash University and the University of Melbourne. I have a strong foundation in software quality assurance, having worked as a Senior Software Quality Assurance Engineer before pursuing my PhD. With over four years of industry experience, I collaborated with diverse stakeholders and worked on a range of products, developing my skills in delivering high-quality software solutions.
I graduated with a First Class Bachelor of Science (Hons.) degree in Information Systems from the University of Colombo School of Computing, Sri Lanka. I was recognised as the Gold Medallist for the Best Undergraduate Research Project (jointly) and received the Silver Award at the prestigious National Best Quality Software Awards (NBQSA) for the same project, which led to representing Sri Lanka at the Asia Pacific ICT Alliance Awards (APICTA) in 2018.