  Background. Within the software industry, it is commonly estimated that
software professionals invest a substantial portion of their work hours in the
process of understanding existing systems. In this context, an ineffective
technical onboarding process, which introduces newcomers to software under
development, can result in a prolonged period for them to absorb the necessary
knowledge required to become productive in their roles. Goal. The present study
aims to explore the familiarity of managers, leaders, and developers with
software visualization tools and how these tools are employed to facilitate the
technical onboarding of new team members. Method. To address the research
problem, we built upon the insights gained through the literature and embraced
a sequential exploratory approach. This approach incorporated quantitative and
qualitative analyses of data collected from practitioners using questionnaires
and semi-structured interviews. Findings. Our findings demonstrate a gap
between the concept of software visualization and the practical use of
onboarding tools and techniques. Overall, practitioners do not systematically
incorporate software visualization tools into their technical onboarding
processes due to a lack of conceptual understanding and awareness of their
potential benefits. Conclusion. The software industry could benefit from
standardized and evolving onboarding models, improved by incorporating software
visualization techniques and tools to support program comprehension of
newcomers in the software projects.
