From guidance to conversation: a thesis studies ChatGPT as a complement in software engineering
Rafael Berto Pereira defended at FCTE/UnB an undergraduate thesis investigating the complementary use of ChatGPT in software engineering processes — through a case study with previously defined guidelines.
Brasília, December 15, 2023
If 2023 was the year the software community began sharing its work with an artificial language interlocutor, it is still unclear how that interlocutor should enter engineering processes. The undergraduate thesis defended in December 2023 by Rafael Berto Pereira contributes to that debate through a concrete case study, advised by Prof. George Marsicano Corrêa .
The work starts from guidelines previously defined in a Software Engineering course and tests ChatGPT as a complementary resource. The question is not whether the tool produces answers — the question is whether those answers, integrated into the process, preserve or compromise the quality of what the student builds. The case study then turns into a lab to observe edges and trade-offs.
The work speaks to digital transformation of technical education and anticipates an agenda the community must address quickly: how to train professionals capable of extracting value from LLMs without outsourcing judgment — a question that will remain open for many cycles.
The full text — written in Portuguese — is available at the UnB Undergraduate Theses Digital Library.
About CEDIS: The Center for Studies, Development, and Innovation in Software (CEDIS), linked to the University of Brasília, researches and develops innovative software solutions.