Daniel Alencar da Costa

Daniel Alencar da Costa is a Lecturer (Assistant Professor equivalent) at the Information Science Department of the University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand. Previously, he worked as a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Software Reengineering Research Group at Queen's University, Kingston, Canada, under Prof. Ying Zou. His academic background includes a BSc (2007) from University Centre of Pará (Belém, Brazil), MSc (2013) and PhD (2017) from Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), supervised by Prof. Uirá Kulesza and Prof. Ahmed E. Hassan during his SAIL Lab visit.

• Current Position: Lecturer at School of Computing, University of Otago
• Past Role: Postdoctoral Fellow at Queen's University
• Education: PhD & MSc from UFRN; BSc from CESUPA

His research focuses on Empirical Software Engineering, employing machine learning, statistical analysis, and qualitative methods (surveys, interviews) to understand software development phenomena. Key interests include optimizing software practices through empirical validation, CI/CD monitoring, defect prediction, and team dynamics analysis. Recent work investigates continuous integration patterns in ML projects and crash prediction in mobile applications.

Scientific contributions include collaborative research with institutions like Queen's University and SAIL Lab. He co-supervises students such as Chathrie Wimalasooriya and explores tools for identifying development bottlenecks. Contact available via danielcalencar@otago.ac.nz.