Paradigm to Assess and Evaluate Tools to Support the Software Development Process

摘要

The purpose of this research is to develop and evaluate software prototypingtools that are used to produce an executable unit that demonstrates particular aspects of the behavior or functionality of the desired software product. It was conducted with a particular perspective of assuming how the tools support an aspect of software design that has received little attention: exploration of design space. To pursue this perspective, an initial definition of design space exploration was developed and hypotheses were proposed on what outcomes would be observed if a tool supported design space exploration. Finally, techniques were designed to obtain data to test the hypotheses in a general manner. Data were collected with these techniques during a session in which a particular tool was used to design software. The results provided some support for the hypotheses and suggested options for further refinement of the methodology. The transcribed observational data supported post-hoc analysis that revealed aspects of the software development that occurred in the two-day session. (AN).