Non-programmers identifying functionality in unfamiliar code: Strategies and barriers

Authors:
Paul Gross;Caitlin Kelleher
Affiliations:
Department of Computer Science and Engineering - Washington University in St. Louis;Department of Computer Science and Engineering - Washington University in St. Louis
Venue:
VLHCC '09 Proceedings of the 2009 IEEE Symposium on Visual Languages and Human-Centric Computing (VL/HCC)
Year:
2009

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Abstract

Source code on the web is a widely available and potentially rich learning resource for non-programmers. However, unfamiliar code can be daunting to end-users without programming experience. This paper describes the results of an exploratory study in which we asked non-programmers to find and modify the code responsible for specific functionality within unfamiliar programs. We present two interacting models of how non-programmers approach this problem: the Task Process Model and the Landmark-Mapping model. Using these models, we describe code search strategies non-programmers employed and the difficulties they encountered. Finally, we propose guidelines for future programming environments that support non-programmers in finding functionality in unfamiliar programs.