End-user software visualizations for fault localization

Ruthruff, Joseph R.; Creswick, Eugene R.; Burnett, Margaret; Cook, Curtis R.; Prabhakararao, S.; Fisher, Marc; Main, Martin B.

doi:10.1145/774833.774851

Cited by 43 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…The next steps will be to formally show coverage equivalence between the two paradigms, to consider visualization techniques for WYSIWYT testing in the screen transition paradigm, and to consider whether fault localization techniques that have been developed for end users [27] can be brought to the screen transition paradigm.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

End-User Testing for the Lyee Methodology using the Screen Transition Paradigm and WYSIWYT

Brown

Burnett

Rothermel

2003

Knowledge-Based Systems

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

End-User Testing for the Lyee Methodology using the Screen Transition Paradigm and WYSIWYT

Brown

Burnett

Rothermel

2003

Knowledge-Based Systems

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“…Ruthruff et al [25] studied the effects of three visualization techniques for fault location in end-user programming. Through an empirical "formative study", they found varying degrees of effectiveness in locating faults, depending on the specific technique.…”

Section: Related Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

Supporting the Evolution of a Software Visualization Tool Through Usability Studies

Marcus

Comorski

Sergeyev

13th International Workshop on Program Comprehension (IWPC'05)

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The paper presents a usability study conducted with graduate and undergraduate computer science students, designed to evaluate the effectiveness of a software visualization tool named sv3D, and to provide necessary user data for the evolution of the system. Sv3D is a software visualization tool for comprehension of large software, capable of displaying source code and associated metrics in three dimensions.The participants in the study answered two types of questions: one set provided objective measurements to support the formulated hypotheses with respect to the accuracy and speed of the users answering questions using sv3D; the second set of questions provided subjective measurements that were used to support the evolution of sv3D.We formulated two null hypotheses with respect to accuracy and time respectively. The collected data supported one hypothesis and rejected the other.

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“…Ruthruff et al [16] introduced a spreadsheet debugging technique that is based on the ideas of Tarantula. Hofer et al [3] empirically compare the fault localization capabilities of 42 similarity coefficients for spreadsheets.…”

Section: Related Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spectrum-Based Fault Localization for Spreadsheets: Influence of Correct Output Cells on the Fault Localization Quality

Hofer

2014

2014 IEEE International Symposium on Software Reliability Engineering Workshops

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Spreadsheets used in companies often contain several thousand formulas. The localization of faulty cells in such large spreadsheets could be time-consuming and frustrating. Spectrum-based fault localization (SFL) supports users in faster locating the faulty cell(s). However, SFL depends on the information the user provides. In this paper, we address three research questions in this context: (RQ1) Do spreadsheets contain correct output cells that positively or negatively influence the ranking of the faulty cells? (RQ2) If yes, is it possible to a-priori determine which correct output cells would positively influence the ranking? (RQ3) Is it possible to avoid a decreasing fault localization quality when adding more correct output cells? This paper shows that there exist correct output cells which positively or negatively influence the ranking. In particular, correct output cells with the largest cones positively influence the ranking of the faulty cell. Balancing the relation of correct and erroneous output cells by duplicating the cones of erroneous output cells improves the fault localization quality. I. INTRODUCTIONSpreadsheets are a well-known example of end-user programing. They are used in more than 95 % of the US companies [1], e.g., for financial reporting, data management, forward planning and investment decisions. Unfortunately, spreadsheets contain errors at an alarmingly high rate. Panko [2] estimates the human error rate when writing formulas to be 3 % to 5 %. Therefore, a spreadsheet with 100 formulas contains with a probability of 86.7 % to 99.4 % at least one fault. Even spreadsheets that build the basis for important decisions often contain faults. The European Spreadsheet Risk Interest Group (http://www.eusprig.org/horror-stories.htm) lists examples where spreadsheet faults led to financial losses.When an erroneous behavior is observed in a spreadsheet, the process of fault localization starts. Since spreadsheets that are used in companies are often large, containing several thousands of formulas, fault localization by manual inspection can be time-intensive and frustrating. In such a case, automatic fault localization techniques could help to automatically narrow down the search space.In previous work [3], we have discussed the application of spectrum-based fault localization (SFL) to spreadsheets.

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End-user software visualizations for fault localization

Cited by 43 publications

References 14 publications

End-User Testing for the Lyee Methodology using the Screen Transition Paradigm and WYSIWYT

End-User Testing for the Lyee Methodology using the Screen Transition Paradigm and WYSIWYT

Supporting the Evolution of a Software Visualization Tool Through Usability Studies

Spectrum-Based Fault Localization for Spreadsheets: Influence of Correct Output Cells on the Fault Localization Quality

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