Experimental Settings in Program Comprehension: Challenges and Open Issues

Abstract

Several approaches to program comprehension have been proposed along the years, ranging from fact extraction to sophisticated visualization tools. In order to effectively assess the benefits of each approach, or to properly compare different techniques, it is necessary to carry out a proper, well-defined experimentation. This work session aims to discuss the main issues in preparing experimental settings related to the evaluation of approaches and tools supporting program comprehension, as well as to promote networking aiming to carry on collaborative experimentations