Thomas Fritz

Prof. Dr. Thomas Fritz is an Associate Professor of Human Aspects of Software Engineering at the University of Zurich's Department of Informatics within the Faculty of Business, Economics and Informatics. His research focuses on empirically studying software developers through biometric sensing and interaction analysis to enhance productivity and wellbeing. Key domains include developer productivity analytics, interruptibility detection using physiological sensors, and context-aware developer tools.

Research interests center on:

• Developer Productivity/Personal Analytics: Measuring and improving developer efficiency through activity monitoring
• Biometric Sensing: Using physiological data (e.g., heart rate, EEG) to predict code quality and emotional states
• Information Needs: Modeling developers' contextual requirements during coding tasks

His publications predominantly explore human factors in software engineering, with recurring themes of biometric sensing, developer productivity, and human-centered tool design. Recent work shows increased focus on VR applications for workspace optimization and real-time stress detection in knowledge workers.

Awards and honors include:

• Honorable Mention Awards at CHI 2017 and CHI 2018
• ACM SIGSOFT Distinguished Paper Award (2010)
• 3rd Place in ACM Student Research Competition (2010)

He leads the Human Aspects of Software Engineering (HASE) Lab and has advised over 20 PhD/Master's students. Research is funded by Swiss National Science Foundation grants, ABB Software Research Grants, NSERC Collaborative Research grants, and Microsoft SEIF Awards. Current projects include emotion-aware development environments and VR-based productivity tools.