Human-Centered Approach to Static-Analysis-Driven Developer Tools

Abstract

Complex and opaque systems do not scale easily. A human-centered approach for evolving tools and practices is essential to ensuring that software is scaled safely and securely. Static analysis can unveil information about program behavior, but the goal of deriving this information should not be to accumulate hairsplitting detail. HCI can help direct static-analysis techniques into developer-facing systems that structure information and embody relationships in representations that closely mirror a programmer's thought. The survival of great software depends on programming languages that support, rather than inhibit, communicating, reasoning, and abstract thinking.