Abstract
The software industry has continued to grow over the past decade and there is now a need to provide education and hands-on training to students in various phases of software life cycle. Software design is one of the vital phases of the software development cycle. Psychological theories assert that not everybody is fit for all kind of tasks as people have different personality traits and abilities. The learning pattern of students is influenced by the personality types, with individuals having different personality types their learning pattern varies. The personality type of an individual generates a great deal of impact on the performance of various activities that humans can carry out. The behavior of individuals with a particular type of personality reflects the way these people perceive the world and make decisions. This personality type classification covers many aspects of human behavior, such as attitude, action and reaction, thinking, learning, feeling, and lifestyle. In this paper we provide empirical evidence about the significance of the personality types and discuss the learning pattern in an undergraduate software design course. The experiment was conducted on a subject of 85 students over the period of two years from 2007 to 2008. We employed the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) after carefully assessing other well regarded personality testing techniques such as MMPI (Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory) and 16PF (Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire) to identify the personality type. MBTI establishes four parameters for assessing personality types. We all have the personality qualities contained within each scale or parameter, but we naturally prefer some qualities or are more comfortable with some styles than others. With the MBTI, each scale is bimodal with its central point having a zero value. Quantitative mechanisms were also employed in the form of paper based exams, assignments, projects, and quizzes for evaluating learning patterns of students. The results of the study found that individuals identified as ISTJ (using MBTI), that is students possessing the personality traits of Introvert, Sensing, Thinking, and Judging performed at a consistently higher level than any other group of students. However, it was also found that those students who were classified as ENTJ (Extrovert, Intuition, Thinking, and Judging) also demonstrated high levels of attainment. Clearly these two types possess the common traits of Thinking and Judging; however there is an obvious disparity in the other personality traits exhibited. The commonalities and differences exhibited by the two groups and their levels of attainment in the course obviously demonstrate that in the Software Engineering discipline a measured and methodological personality is more likely to perform well. In conclusion the findings of this experiment reinforce the current perceptions that personality types play a significant role in learning. It also provides empirical data about the personality type's involvement in teaching one of the core phases of software development life cycle.