Characterizing Developer Behavior in Cloud Based IDEs

Background: Cloud based integrated development environments (IDEs) are rapidly gaining popularity for its native support and potential to accelerate DevOps. However, there is little research of how developers behave when interacting with these environments. Aims: To develop empirical knowledge about how developers behave when interacting with cloud based IDEs to deal with programming tasks at various difficulty levels. Method: We conducted a user study using a cloud based IDE, JazzHub. We collected and coded session trace data, self-reported effort and frustration levels, and screen recordings. Results: We built a Markov activity transition model that describes the transitions among common development activities such as coding, debugging, and searching for information. It also captures extended interactions with remote resources. We correlated activity transition with different code growth trajectories. Conclusion: The findings are an early step toward realizing the potential for enhanced interactions in cloud based IDEs. Our study provides empirical evidence that may inspire the future evolution of cloud based IDE designs and features.