On the Effect of Noise on Software Engineers' Performance: Results from Two Replicated Experiments

Noise, defined as an unwanted sound, is one of the most common factors people have to deal with when performing their daily working tasks. Researchers have marginally investigated the effect of noise on software engineers' performance. In this paper, we present the results of two replicated experiments whose main goal was to increase the body of knowledge, by confirming or not the results of the baseline experiments, on the effect of noise while comprehending functional requirements specifications and fixing faults in source code. The results of the replicated experiments suggest that: (i) noise does not significantly affect the comprehension of functional requirements specifications and (ii) noise significantly and negatively affects fixing faults if this task lasts 30 minutes, while it does not have a significant impact if the task lasts 60 minutes. The results of the replications confirm to a large extent those of the baseline experiments and allow us to postulate, as done for the baseline experiments, that fixing faults is more vulnerable to noise than comprehending the specifications of functional requirements