assisting engineers in switching artifacts by using task semantic and interaction history
DESCRIPTION
Abstract Recent empirical studies show that software engineers use 5 tools and 14 artifacts on average for a single task. As development work is frequently interrupted and several simultaneous tasks are performed in parallel, engineers need to switch many times between these tools and artifacts. A lot of time gets wasted in repeatedly locating, reopening or selecting the right artifacts needed next. To address this problem we introduce Switch!, a context-aware artifact recommendation and switching tool. Switch! assists engineers in switching artifacts based on the type of the development task and the interaction history.TRANSCRIPT
Assis$ngEngineersinSwitchingAr$facts
WalidMaalejandAlexanderSahm
TechnischeUniversitätMünchen,Germany
byusingTaskSeman$csandInterac$onHistory
RSSE’10,CapeTown,SouthAfrica,Mai2010
©W.Maalej,Mai2010
Execu$veSummary
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Weproposeacontext‐awareswitchingapproachbasedontaskseman6csandinterac6onhistory
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Currentdesktopenvironmentslackthesupportforswitchingbetweenar6factsduringengineers’work
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Outline
PreliminaryEvalua$onandOutlook
OurContext‐AwareApproach
TheSystem:Switch!
TheSwitchingProblem
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1
3
4
Assis$ngEngineersinSwitchingAr$facts
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ExampleofToolsandAr$factsUsedinaBugFixingScenario(iPhoneApp)
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PostponedTasksLeadtoEvenMoreWindows
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CurrentDesktopEnvironmentsHaveFourShortcomings
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TheSwitchingProblem
Windowsofdifferenttasksaremixed
TaskirrelevantwindowscreateascreencluAer
Thecontextofprevioussessionsislost
Locatethear6factswhenresumingtasks
Switchingbetweenwindowsinsteadofar$facts
Mul6‐layerswitching:firstthewindowsthenthear6fact
Differentworkflowsforopenandclosedar$facts
Checkifthear6factisopen,ifnot:findit,openit
Moredetails:W.Maalej,Task‐FirstorContext‐First?ToolIntegra6onRevisited.InIEEE/ACMASE2009
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Outline
PreliminaryEvalua$onandOutlook
OurContext‐AwareApproach
TheSystem:Switch!
TheSwitchingProblem
2
1
3
4
Assis$ngEngineersinSwitchingAr$facts
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TheGoalistoAssistEngineersSwitchingBetweenAr$facts
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Detectanduseengineer’scontext
Thesystemrecommendsar6factsneedednext
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Engineerscaneasilyselectthear6factfromthesetof
recommenda6ons
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Thear6factisshownnomaAerwhetheritisopenofclosed
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WhatisEngineer’sContext?
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TaskSeman6cs(UniversalDimension)
Interac6onHistory(PersonalDimension)
Context
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TaskSeman$cs(UniversalDimension)
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What?
Why? • Aclassifica$onofsoXware
engineeringtasks(bug
fixing,implementa6on,specifica6on,modeling,
collabora6on…)
• Asharedcommon
understandingofeachtask
type(ontology)
• Tomodeltooltypesand
ar$facttypesandassociate
themtotasktypes
• Example:Ates6ngtooland
testdocumentsarerather
usedduringtes6ngtasks
thanduringmodelingtasks
©W.Maalej,Mai2010
Interac$onHistory(PersonalDimension)
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What?
Why?
• Tomodelthepersonal
switchinghabitsandneed
ofengineers
• Example:Anengineer
maintainsaTo‐dolistintext
documentinsteadintask
managementsystem
• Theengineer’sinterac6oninherworkplace(desktop
environment)
• Individualworkhabits• Preferredtools• Preferredar6facts
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Outline
PreliminaryEvalua$onandOutlook
OurContext‐AwareApproach
TheSystem:Switch!
TheSwitchingProblem
2
1
3
4
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OverallArchitecture
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Switch!
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OverallRecommenda$onProcess
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Calculatetherelevanceofeachar$facttoswitchto
Findsuitable ar$facttypesbasedontaskseman$cs
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Recommenda$onHeuris$cs
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Dura$on
Frequency
SwitchedTo
Relevance
The6meinsecondstheusageofanar6factbytheengineer
The usage frequency of an artifact by the engineer
Thenumberofswitchesbetweentwoar6facts
Therelevanceofthear6factforthisswitch
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UIPrinciple1:GroupToolsbyPurposes
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UIPrinciple2:RankAr$factsinEachToolGroup
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UIPrinciple3:Ar$factsClickablebyMouseandKeyboard
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Outline
PreliminaryEvalua$onandOutlook
OurContext‐AwareApproach
TheSystem:Switch!
TheSwitchingProblem
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1
3
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FromWorkToWord
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PreliminaryEvalua$on
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Internalevalua$onofSwitch!prototype
Paperprototypeexperiment
• Internaluseforcurrentlysupportedtasktypes(workinprogress)
• Switch!Supportsbugfixing,tes6nganddocumen6ng
• Currentversionhandlessourcecode,PDFs,emails,textdocuments,andwebpages
• Paperprototypeexperiment
• CreatedfromprintedSwitch!userinterface
• Conductedwith7experiencedsoXwareengineers(fromEquinux&MacInTUM)
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PaperPrototype‐Example
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PaperPrototype‐Findings
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Subjectsconfirmedtheswitchingproblemandappreciatedourcontext‐awareapproach(5of7subjectswoulduseSwitch!)
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Subjectsneededtogetusedtotheuserinterfaceconcepts(avg.<5min.)
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Subjectswantedtounderstandrecommenda6onra$onale
3
Mostsubjectshadprivacyconcernsduetothesystemwidecontextobserva6on
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ConclusionandFutureWork
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Developersencounterfrequentproblemswhile
switchingbetweenar6facts
Ourcontext‐awareapproachseemstobeappropriatefor
addressingswitchingproblems
ExtendSwitch!toothertasktypesand
evaluateitinindustrialseangs
Improverecommenda6onsbydetec6ngthetaskchange
Makeprivacyandusabilityafistorderconcernincontext‐
awarerecommenda6on
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3 4 5
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Feedback,Ques$ons,Sugges$onsandCollabora$onareWelcomed!
AlexanderSahmTUM
WalidMaalejTUM
hAp://TeamWeaver.org