Understanding Interaction and Communication Challenges Present in Software Engineering

Researchers have largely identified that interactions and communications pose major challenges in software development, especially when extracting requirements. However, they have not appreciated the sources and the depth of them, thus approaching them with mechanisms that have not (fully) achieved the desired objectives. In this position, we claim that such challenges can be explained using three major theories coming from social sciences: the theory of verbal and nonverbal communication, systemic theory, and democratic theory. We also argue that some of the successful practices of agile methods can be explained in terms of these theories. Finally, we stipulate that a full appreciation of these theories can result in a significant leap forward in the discipline, identifying new mechanisms that can help to overcome the mentioned challenges, understanding fully what we are doing and why