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Manually locating features in industrial source code: the search actions of software nomads

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Jim BuckleyAuthors Info & Claims

ICPC '15: Proceedings of the 2015 IEEE 23rd International Conference on Program Comprehension

Pages 174 - 177

Published: 16 May 2015 Publication History

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Abstract

Expert software engineers working on large systems often need to perform feature location when moving to work in unfamiliar areas. We hypothesise that leveraging the system-specific knowledge of these software nomads may help to improve semi-automated feature location techniques. In order to assess and understand how software nomads perform manual feature location searches, two expert professional software engineers were observed in-vivo following a think-aloud protocol while performing manual feature location on a large-scale heterogeneous system. The nomads' search actions were found to be around twice as effective as those reported in previous studies. This cannot be explained by sophisticated use of tools or complex queries. We conclude that system rules and conventions are frequently used by experts when constructing feature location search terms.

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Cited By

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Krüger JGu WShen HMukelabai MHebig RBerger T(2018)Towards a Better Understanding of Software Features and Their CharacteristicsProceedings of the 12th International Workshop on Variability Modelling of Software-Intensive Systems10.1145/3168365.3168371(105-112)Online publication date: 7-Feb-2018
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3168365.3168371
Buckley JRosik JHerold SWasala ABotterweck GExton CBahsoon RWeinreich R(2016)FLINTSProccedings of the 10th European Conference on Software Architecture Workshops10.1145/2993412.3003390(1-7)Online publication date: 28-Nov-2016
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/2993412.3003390

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Manually locating features in industrial source code: the search actions of software nomads

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Information & Contributors

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Published In

ICPC '15: Proceedings of the 2015 IEEE 23rd International Conference on Program Comprehension

May 2015

325 pages

General Chair:
Andrea De Lucia
University of Salerno, Italy
,
Program Chairs:
Christian Bird
Microsoft Research
,
Rocco Oliveto
University of Molise, Italy

Publisher

IEEE Press

Publication History

Published: 16 May 2015

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ICSE '15

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ACM
SIGSOFT
IEEE-CS\DATC
TCSE

ICSE '15: 37th International Conference on Software Engineering

May 16 - 24, 2015

Florence, Italy

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2025 IEEE/ACM 46th International Conference on Software Engineering

April 26 - May 3, 2025

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Krüger JGu WShen HMukelabai MHebig RBerger T(2018)Towards a Better Understanding of Software Features and Their CharacteristicsProceedings of the 12th International Workshop on Variability Modelling of Software-Intensive Systems10.1145/3168365.3168371(105-112)Online publication date: 7-Feb-2018
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3168365.3168371
Buckley JRosik JHerold SWasala ABotterweck GExton CBahsoon RWeinreich R(2016)FLINTSProccedings of the 10th European Conference on Software Architecture Workshops10.1145/2993412.3003390(1-7)Online publication date: 28-Nov-2016
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/2993412.3003390

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Manually Locating Features in Industrial Source Code: The Search Actions of Software Nomads

Locating distinguishing features using diff sets

Addendum to "Locating Features in Source Code'