MSR 2026
Mon 13 - Tue 14 April 2026 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
co-located with ICSE 2026

This program is tentative and subject to change.

Large Language Models (LLMs) are widely used for code generation, repair, and explanation, yet they still make mistakes when instructions are vague or when their initial assumptions are wrong. Current prompting methods help models show their reasoning but do not encourage them to check whether that reasoning is sound. This \textit{exploratory} study introduces \emph{MIND}, a Socratic-style prompting framework that guides models through self-questions aimed at clarifying the task, identifying missing information, and checking intermediate conclusions. We will evaluate the framework across four benchmarks covering code generation, repair, explanation, and efficiency, comparing it with methods such as Chain-of-Thought, Self-Ask, Self-Refine, and ReAct. We will also run an ablation study to examine which stages of the questioning process contribute most to performance.

This program is tentative and subject to change.

Mon 13 Apr

Displayed time zone: Brasilia, Distrito Federal, Brazil change

16:00 - 17:30
Session 3-A: Tutorial + Registered reports talksRegistered Reports / Tutorials / MSR Program at Oceania V
16:00
40m
Talk
Selecting the Data Source that Matter: Fine-Tuning Domain-Specific Ecosystem Studies with MARIN
Tutorials
Johannes Düsing Technische Universität Dortmund, Ben Hermann University of Stuttgart
16:40
5m
Talk
Ask, Then Think: Enhancing LLM Performance with Socratic Reasoning
Registered Reports
Antonio Della Porta University of Salerno, Jonan Richards Radboud University, Lucageneroso Cammarota University of Salerno, Stefano Lambiase Department of Computer Science, Aalborg University, Denmark, Fabio Palomba University of Salerno, Mairieli Wessel Radboud University
DOI Pre-print
16:45
5m
Talk
Beyond the Prompt: Assessing Domain Knowledge Strategies for High-Dimensional LLM Optimization in Software Engineering
Registered Reports
Srinath Srinivasan North Carolina State University, Tim Menzies North Carolina State University
16:50
5m
Talk
Does Impact Analysis Support the Review of Changes to Build Specifications?
Registered Reports
Mahtab Nejati University of Waterloo, Mahmoud Alfadel University of Calgary, Shane McIntosh University of Waterloo
DOI Pre-print
16:55
5m
Talk
Parameterized Tests in Practice: Adoption, Styles, and Impact in Apache Java Projects
Registered Reports
Xinyi Li Stevens Institute of Technology, Lu Xiao Stevens Institute of Technology, Gengwu Zhao Stevens Institute of Technology, Sunny Wong Envestnet
DOI Pre-print
17:00
5m
Talk
Causal Inference for the Effect of Code Coverage on Bug Introduction
Registered Reports
Lukas Schulte University of Passau, Gordon Fraser University of Passau, Steffen Herbold University of Passau
DOI Pre-print
17:05
5m
Talk
Automated Testing of Task-based Chatbots: How Far Are We?
Registered Reports
Diego Clerissi University of Milano-Bicocca, Elena Masserini University of Milano - Bicocca, Daniela Micucci University of Milano-Bicocca, Italy, Leonardo Mariani University of Milano-Bicocca
DOI Pre-print
17:10
5m
Talk
The Influence of Code Smells in Efferent Neighbors on Class Stability
Registered Reports
Zushuai Zhang University of Auckland, Elliott Wen The University of Auckland, Ewan Tempero The University of Auckland
DOI Pre-print