Although there is a long tradition of empirical studies of software developers, few studies
have focused on software maintenance. Prior work is predicated on the belief that higher …

This paper presents five abstract characteristics of the mental representation of computer
programs hierarchical structure, explicit mapping of code to goals, foundation on recognition …

The field of software, has, to date, focused almost exclusively on application-independent
approaches. In this research, we demonstrate the role of application domain knowledge in …

Recent research using professional programmers suggests that knowledge of the
application domain plays a major role in the cognitive processes they use to understand …

Software development remains mentally challenging despite the continual advancement of
training, techniques, and tools. Because completely automating software development is …

The main factors that affect software understanding are the complexity of the problem solved
by the program, the program text, the user's mental ability and experience and the task being …

This paper reviewed the extensive evidence on the effectiveness of feedback on learning.
The research supported five claims about feedback. First, informational feedback is effective …

This paper describes an analysis scheme which was developed to probe the
comprehension of computer programming languages by students learning to program. The …

The understandability of a program specification has a direct bearing on several important
aspects of software quality. These include reliability, modifiability, reusability, and …

Over the years, software has become a crucial component for most organizations, either as a
service or a tool used in everyday workflows. As new necessities, requirements, and …