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Maryam Hussain

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I am a PhD student in Software Engineering at Concordia University and a member of the REALISE Lab, where I am supervised by Prof. Diego Elias Damasceno Costa.

My research focuses on Software Agents (Agentic AI) and their application to Software Engineering. I am interested in designing intelligent autonomous agents that collaborate with software developers, automate complex engineering activities, and improve software quality throughout the software development lifecycle. More broadly, my research interests include AI for Software Engineering (AI4SE), Large Language Models (LLMs), Software Architecture, Requirements Engineering, and Empirical Software Engineering.

Why Research?​

I enjoy research because it gives me the opportunity to solve challenging problems that have the potential to shape the future of software engineering. What excites me most is the emergence of intelligent software agents and their ability to collaborate with developers rather than simply automate isolated tasks. I believe the next generation of software systems will be built alongside autonomous AI agents, and I hope my research contributes to making these systems trustworthy, practical, and beneficial for the software engineering community.

Education​

  • PhD in Software Engineering, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada (2026–Present)
  • M.S. in Software Engineering, FAST – National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences (FAST–NUCES), Pakistan (2023–2025)
  • B.S. in Computer Science, FAST – National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences (FAST–NUCES), Pakistan (2019–2023)

Publications​

  • A Data-driven Approach for Automated Quality Concern Extraction from App Reviews
    8th International Workshop on App Market Analytics (A-Mobile), co-located with the IEEE/ACM International Conference on Automated Software Engineering (ASE 2025).

  • From Requirements to Design Decisions: A Four-Stage Methodology Pipeline for ASR-Driven Architectural Tactic Recommendation Using Retrieval-Augmented Generation
    IDEA-ARCH colocated with 19th European Conference on Software Architecture (ECSA 2026).

For a complete list of my publications, please visit my Researchr profile:

Research Experience​

Graduate Research Assistant​

AISEL Lab, Al Ain University (2023–2025)

My master's research focused on applying transformer-based language models to software engineering problems. My contributions include:

  • Developed an automated approach for extracting software quality concerns from mobile app reviews using lightweight transformer models.
  • Constructed a manually annotated dataset of over 20,000 Google Play reviews aligned with the ISO/IEC 25010 software quality model.
  • Investigated efficient transformer architectures and optimization techniques for scalable software analytics.
  • Developed context-aware approaches for automatically identifying Architecturally Significant Requirements (ASRs) from natural-language software requirements.
  • Conducted empirical evaluations of multiple transformer models on software engineering datasets.

Junior Research Assistant​

SEAL Lab, FAST–NUCES (2022–2023)

Worked on CodeStory VR, an ICT-funded research project exploring AI-assisted programming education through immersive virtual reality.

My work involved:

  • Explainable AI for programming education
  • Runtime validation and software reliability
  • Educational software engineering
  • Human–AI interaction

Teaching Experience​

As an Instructor at FAST–NUCES, I taught undergraduate courses including:

  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Software Engineering
  • Web Programming
  • Data Analysis & Visualization

I also supervised undergraduate projects involving software engineering, machine learning, and Large Language Models, encouraging students to bridge theoretical concepts with practical software development and research.

Industrial Experience​

Web Developer​

Compass Travels and Tours, Pakistan (Oct 2022 – Feb 2023)

As a Web Developer, I worked on designing and maintaining web applications while gaining practical experience in modern software development practices. My responsibilities included developing secure and modular web components, integrating frontend and backend services, and improving application performance and maintainability. This experience strengthened my understanding of software architecture, API design, and collaborative software development, providing valuable industry insights that continue to influence my research in AI-assisted software engineering.

Research Interests​

  • Software Agents
  • Agentic AI
  • AI for Software Engineering (AI4SE)
  • Large Language Models
  • Multi-Agent Systems
  • Software Architecture
  • Requirements Engineering
  • Software Maintenance and Evolution
  • Software Analytics
  • Repository Mining
  • Empirical Software Engineering
  • Human–AI Collaboration
  • Trustworthy AI

Awards & Achievements​

  • Publications at the IEEE/ACM International Conference on Automated Software Engineering (ASE) and the European Conference on Software Architecture (ECSA).
  • Graduate Research Assistant at AISEL Lab, contributing to AI-driven software engineering research.
  • Best Final Year Project Nominee for CodeStory VR, an ICT-funded research project.

Beyond Research​

Outside of research, I enjoy exploring cute coffee shops, meeting new people and having conversations about everything from everyday life to new ideas. I value curiosity, meaningful discussions and learning from people with different perspectives. I believe that some of the best ideas are born through collaboration and conversations.

Contact​