DocumentCode :
2413038
Title :
Improving Usability of Software Refactoring Tools
Author :
Mealy, Erica ; Carrington, David ; Strooper, Paul ; Wyeth, Peta
Author_Institution :
Sch. of Inf. Technol. & Electr. Eng., Queensland Univ., St. Lucia, Qld.
fYear :
2007
fDate :
10-13 April 2007
Firstpage :
307
Lastpage :
318
Abstract :
Post-deployment maintenance and evolution can account for up to 75% of the cost of developing a software system. Software refactoring can reduce the costs associated with evolution by improving system quality. Although refactoring can yield benefits, the process includes potentially complex, error-prone, tedious and time-consuming tasks. It is these tasks that automated refactoring tools seek to address. However, although the refactoring process is well-defined, current refactoring tools do not support the full process. To develop better automated refactoring support, we have completed a usability study of software refactoring tools. In the study, we analysed the task of software refactoring using the ISO 9241-11 usability standard and Fitts´ List of task allocation. Expanding on this analysis, we reviewed 11 collections of usability guidelines and combined these into a single list of 38 guidelines. From this list, we developed 81 usability requirements for refactoring tools. Using these requirements, the software refactoring tools Eclipse 3.2, Condenser 1.05, RefactorIT 2.5.1, and Eclipse 3.2 with the Simian UI 2.2.12 plugin were studied. Based on the analysis, we have selected a subset of the requirements that can be incorporated into a prototype refactoring tool intended to address the full refactoring process.
Keywords :
software maintenance; software prototyping; software tools; ISO 9241-11 usability standard; software refactoring tool; task allocation; Costs; Guidelines; ISO standards; Prototypes; Software prototyping; Software quality; Software standards; Software systems; Software tools; Usability;
fLanguage :
English
Publisher :
ieee
Conference_Titel :
Software Engineering Conference, 2007. ASWEC 2007. 18th Australian
Conference_Location :
Melbourne, Vic.
ISSN :
1530-0803
Print_ISBN :
0-7695-2778-7
Type :
conf
DOI :
10.1109/ASWEC.2007.24
Filename :
4159683
Link To Document :
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