Theory-based analysis of cognitive support in software comprehension tools

Abstract

Past research on software comprehension tools has produced a wealth of lessons in building good tools. However, our explanations of these tools tend to be weakly grounded in existing theories of cognition and human-computer interaction. As a result, the interesting rationales underlying their design are poorly articulated, leaving the lessons primarily implicit. This paper describes a way of using existing program comprehension theories to rationalize tool designs. To illustrate the technique, key design rationales underlying a prominent reverse engineering tool (the Reflexion Model Tool) are reconstructed. The reconstruction shows that theories of cognitive support can be applied to existing cognitive models of software developer behaviour. The method for constructing the rationales is described, and implications are drawn for codifying existing design knowledge, evaluating tools and improving design reasoning.