Title:
Supporting interrupted programming tasks with memory-based aids
Supporting interrupted programming tasks with memory-based aids
Author(s)
Parnin, Christopher Joseph
Advisor(s)
Rugaber, Spencer
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Abstract
Despite its vast capacity and associative powers, the human brain does
not deal well with interruptions. Particularly in situations where
information density is high, such as during a programming task,
recovering from an interruption requires extensive time and effort.
Although researchers recognize this problem, no programming tool takes
into account the brain's structure and limitations in its design. In
this dissertation, I describe my research collecting evidence about the impact
of interruptions on programmers, understanding how programmers manage
them in practice, and designing tools that can support interrupted
programmers. I present a conceptual framework for understanding human
memory organization and its strengths and weaknesses, particularly
with respect to dealing with work interruptions. The framework
explains empirical results obtained from experiments in which
programmers were interrupted. For researchers, the intent is to use the framework to design development
tools capable of compensating for human memory limitations.
For developers, the insights and strategies from the framework should
allow reflection on our own programming habits and work practices and
how they may be tailored to better fit our human brain.
The framework is evaluated by conducting two experiments that find that 1) developers can recall nearly twice as many past programming events using a tool designed with the framework over traditional tools, with comparable recall effort and 2) developers can remember to perform nearly twice as many prospective actions using a tool designed with the framework over traditional tools, with limited impact to cognitive load.
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Date Issued
2014-11-18
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Text
Resource Subtype
Dissertation