A master thesis from Aalborg University
Auditory & Visual Debugging Aids
Author(s)
Term
4. term
Education
Publication year
2013
Submitted on
2013-06-12
Pages
87 pages
Abstract
This project report describes the development and testing of AVD (Audio Visual Debugging), a prototype Eclipse plug-in that uses Audio to aid in debugging Java programs. Development started by establishing the idea of using audio as a new dimension in debugging. This was not a novel idea, and to address this, it was decided to try combining audio with tracing as a means for debugging. A prototype was developed incorporating both visual and auditory aids for Java traces. The prototype was developed over 4 sprints, each incorporating user stories based on a backlog of wanted features. An experiment was planned to test if the developed prototype really did improve the debugging experience. 16 test participants were invited to use both the prototype and the Eclipse debugging tools to debug two programs, in a usability test setup. All participants were questioned during and interviewed after the test, and this data, combined with quantitative data that was also collected, was used as the basis for a discussion on the hypothesis. In the end the conclusion was that the prototype did not improve efficiency in its current form, but that the idea of using audio as a new dimension in debugging may still have merit, though changes and improvements are required.
Documents
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