Towards AI As A Partner - Tao Dong, PhD, Google Sr Staff UX Researcher | BayCHI
Details
# Details
Light dinner served at 6:30pm PT. Feel free to bring your own if you prefer. We strive to support both in-person and remote attendance, so we'll also fire up the Zoom at that point to support virtual socializing.
Abstract
The ongoing transition of Large Language Models (LLMs) in software engineering from one-shot code generators into agentic partners requires a shift in how we define and measure success. While models are becoming more capable, the industry lacks a clear understanding of the behavioral norms that make an interactive software engineering (SWE) agent effective in collaborative software development in the enterprise. Our work addresses this gap by presenting a taxonomy of desirable SWE agent behaviors, synthesized from 91 sets of developer-defined rules for SWE agents and validated through interviewing 15 experienced professional developers. In this taxonomy, we identify four core expectations: Adhere to Standards and Processes, Ensure Code Quality and Reliability, Solve Problems Effectively, and Collaborate with the Developer. These findings offer a concrete vocabulary for aligning SWE agent behavior with developer preferences, enabling researchers and practitioners to move beyond correctness-only benchmarks and start designing evaluations that reflect the socio-technical nature of professional software development in enterprises.
Bio
Tao Dong is a Senior Staff User Experience Researcher at Google, San Jose. His current work is focused on applying HCI methods to the evaluation of AI tools in Software Engineering. Previously, he was the Head of UX for Google’s Programming Languages and Frameworks group, shaping the developer experience for globally-renowned open-source ecosystems including Flutter, Dart, and Go. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan School of Information and serves as a regular peer reviewer for ACM SIGCHI.
Location
UCSC Silicon Valley Extension (3175 Bowers Ave Santa Clara, CA 95054 - Room 3003) OR Online
Or register for the Zoom meeting:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81922064293?pwd=povXloUMnbHsUJ9tTYFZJafFlrs7F8.1
See the Live Event videos on our channel:
https://www.youtube.com/@baychisanfranciscobayareaa767/streams
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