Experience indicators do not predict subject performance: the case of the students’ seniority level

Abstract

Background: Developers’ personal characteristics are important factors to take into account in Empirical Software Engineering (ESE) research. Experience is one of the most frequently studied factors. To assess experience effects, studies typically evaluate students vs. professionals’ performance. However, professionals are always in short supply. Hence, some studies have used students of different seniority levels for the same goal. Aims: Assessing the students’ performance in programming tasks according to their seniority. Method: Analysis of the data collected in a programming experiment conducted at Universidad de Yucatan, México. Results: Students’ seniority is not related to their performance. Furthermore, students’ seniority and programming experience are not correlated. Conclusions: Education level does not accurately represent subjects’ experience neither predicts their performance.