Applied Software Engineering & AI Research Group (ASE)

ASE research focuses on the topic of Bilateral Software Engineering with a strong focus on the exploitation of synergy effects between Software Engineering and Artificial Intelligence research. Examples topics include but are not limited to the fields of Requirements Engineering with LLMs, LLM-based Software Usability Testing, Machine-Learning enhanced Constraint-based Reasoning, Explanations in AI, and Agent-based Software Engineering.

Recent Papers …

• C. Bahnisch, A. Felfernig, D. Garber, A. Haag, D. Helic, L. Hotz, V.M. Le, S. Lubos. Machine Learning for Constraint-based Configuration: A Survey. 2026. [Journal of Artificial Intelligence Research (JCAIR)] (Q1-ranked)
• T.N.T. Tran, V.M. Le, A. Felfernig, S. Lubos, T.M.N. Chau, L. Chen, G. Leitner, M. Rostami, A.M. Sardroudi, How Cultural Background and Cognitive Style Shape Responses to Sustainability-Aware Explanations in Healthy Food Recommender Systems. In 35th ACM International Conference on Information and Knowledge Management (CIKM 2026), Rome, Italy. 2026. to appear (A*-ranked)
• S. Lubos, A. Felfernig, D. Garber, V.M. Le, M. Henrich. Recommending Usability Improvements with Multimodal Large Language Models. In ACM International Conference on the Foundations of Software Engineering (FSE 2026), Montreal, Canada. 2026. [ACM] (A*-ranked)
• V.M. Le, L.A. Feldgrill, A. Felfernig. Robust Lazy Conflict Detection via Multi-Conflict Extraction and Genetic Diversity Control. In 40th Annual AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence (AAAI’26), Singapore. 2026. [AAAI] (A*-ranked)
• T.N.T. Tran, S. Lubos, A. Felfernig, M. Rostami, V.M. Le, D. Garber. When Do Contrastive Explanations Really Matter in Recommender Systems?. In 20th ACM Conference on Recommender System (RecSys 2026), Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. 2026. to appear (A-ranked)
• S. Lubos, A. Felfernig, D. Garber, A. Kraljić, T. Kraljić, V.M. Le, T.N.T. Tran, G. Leitner, J. Schwazer, D. Suppan, R. Willfort, I. Dukic, J. Fuchs, M. Henrich. Usability Analysis of Configurator User Interfaces with Multimodal Large Language Models. In International Conference on Software and Systems Reuse, Product Lines, and Configuration (VARIABILITY 2026 pref. SPLC Conference), Limassol, Cyprus. 2026. [arXiv] (A-ranked)
• L. Bojic, V. Ilić, A. Felfernig. Advancing diversity in recommender systems: a model for enhancing societal well-being. Journal of Intelligent Information Systems (JIIS). 2026. [Springer] (Q2-ranked)
• A. Felfernig, V.M. Le, D. Garber, S. Lubos, and T.N.T. Tran. Automated Testing and Debugging of Configuration Knowledge Bases With Direct Diagnosis. 2026. [Journal of Intelligent Information Systems (JIIS)] (Q2-ranked)
• A. Felfernig, D. Garber, D. Helic, V.M. Le, S. Lubos, T.N.T. Tran. Sustainability-Aware Evaluation Metrics for Recommender Systems. Journal of Intelligent Information Systems (JIIS). 2026. [Springer] (Q2-ranked)
• V.M. Le, T.N.T. Tran, S. Lubos, A. Felfernig and D. Garber. Early-Stage Product Line Validation Using LLMs: A Study on Semi-Formal Blueprint Analysis. In 41st ACM/SIGAPP Symposium On Applied Computing (SAC 2026), Thessaloniki, Greece. 2026. [ACM] (B-ranked)
• S. Lubos, A. Felfernig, D. Garber, and V.M. Le. Assessing LLMs for Prioritization in Meeting-Based Group Recommendations. In 37th International Conference on Tools with Artificial Intelligence (ICTAI 2025), Athens, Greece. 2025. [IEEE] (B-ranked)
• M. Rostami, A. Felfernig, W. Wörndl, M. Oussalah, A. Anand, M. Jalili, A. Banerjee. Recommender Systems for Sustainable Development through Responsible Nudging. In 34th ACM International Conference on Information and Knowledge Management (CIKM’25). Seoul, Republic of Korea. 2025. [ACM] (A-ranked)
• M. Uta, V.M. Le, A. Felfernig, D. Helic. Learning Constraint Orderings for Direct Diagnosis. Journal of Intelligent Information Systems. 2025. [Springer] [Research Square]
• S. Lubos, M. Gartner, A. Felfernig, and R. Willfort. Leveraging LLMs to Explain the Consequences of Recommendations. In 33rd ACM Conference on User Modelling, Adaptation and Personalization. ACM UMAP 2025, New York, NY, USA. 2025. [ACM] (B-ranked)
• S. Lubos, A. Felfernig, D. Garber, V. M. Le, M. Henrich, R. Willfort, and I. Dukic. InteractiveReq: Enhancing Software Requirement Specification with Critiquing-based Recommender Systems. In 33rd ACM Conference on User Modelling, Adaptation and Personalization. ACM UMAP 2025, New York, NY, USA. 2025.  [ACM] (B-ranked)

Best Paper Awards …

• VARIABILITY 2026 Best Paper: S. Lubos, A. Felfernig, D. Garber, A. Kraljić, T. Kraljić, V.M. Le, T.N.T. Tran, G. Leitner, J. Schwazer, D. Suppan, R. Willfort, I. Dukic, J. Fuchs, M. Henrich. Usability Analysis of Configurator User Interfaces with Multimodal Large Language Models.
• Configuration Workshop 2024 Best Paper: Lothar Hotz, Christian Bähnisch, Sebastian Lubos, Alexander Felfernig, Albert Haag, and Johannes Twiefel. Exploiting Large Language Models for the Automated Generation  of Constraint Satisfaction Problems, 2024.
• Web Intelligence 2019 Best Papers: R. Samer, M. Stettinger, and A. Felfernig. Towards Issue Recommendation for Open Source Communities, 2019.
• Configuration Workshop 2018 Best Papers: M. Atas, T. Trang, R. Samer, D. Fucci, A. Felfernig and M. Stettinger. Liquid Democracy in Group-based Configuration, 2018. Ralph Samer, M. Atas, A. Felfernig, M. Stettinger, A. Falkner and G. Schenner. Group Decision Support for Requirements Management Processes, 2018.
• SEKE 2017 Best Paper: A. Shehadeh, A. Felfernig, M. Jeran, M. Stettinger and S. Reiterer. Knowledge-based Learning Content Generation in the StudyBattles Environment, Pittsburgh, PN, 2017.
• UMAP 2015 Best Papers: M. Stettinger, A. Felfernig, G. Leitner, and S. Reiterer. Counteracting Anchoring Effects in Group Decision Making, 2015.
• Configuration Workshop 2016 (ConfWS’16) Runner-up best paper: A. Felfernig, M. Atas, T. Tran, and M. Stettinger. Towards Group-based Configuration, pp. 69-72, Toulouse, France, 2016.

Systems Developed by ASE …

KnowledgeCheckR supports personalized knowledge sharing & learning processes. On the basis of gamification and recommendation technologies, it helps to improve the quality of personal learning processes. Try it out here!

EventHelpr supports the management of ad hoc events (e.g., project meetings, travels, workshops, and repeated goup meetings). It also supports innovation and group decision making on the basis of various decision support techniques. Try it out here!