Application Domain Knowledge in Computer ProgramComprehension and Enhancement

Software development transforms the conceptual models of the application domain into the formal models of the implementation (programming) domain (Blum 1989). The application domain is where the conceptual models, which describe what is to be done and possible approaches for a solution, are generated. These conceptual models account for many of the essential difficulties in software development (Brooks 1987). Research investigating software development, however, has focused on the implementation domain or computing element (Glass and Vessey 1992). Recent thinking indicates that investigations into the problems of software development must begin to consider the application domain (e.g., Guindon 1990). Software maintenance is one task where application domain knowledge may play an important role. Maintenance remains important to organizations because maintenance costs, as a percentage of software expense, are expected to remain relatively constant (Foster 1991). Of maintenance activities, this research investigates enhancement because it accounts for the greatest percentage of person-hours expended on maintenance (Lientz and Soloway 1980, Abran and Nguyenkim 1991). To enhance a computer program, programmers need to comprehend the existing program. It is estimated that maintenance programmers devote 50%-90% of their time to understanding the existing program, with the remaining 10%-50% spent implementing the enhancement (Robson et al. 1991). The present research is an experimental investigation of the role of application domain knowledge in comprehension and enhancement. Establishing the importance of application domain knowledge in comprehension and enhancement may provide insight into why these tasks account for such a high percentage of software related costs

A Theoretical Basis for the Assessment of Rule-Based System Reliability

Determining the reliability of KBS has become an important research area due to the application of KBSs to areas where misplaced confidence can cause large monetary losses or even loss of life. Developers need a set of criteria to evaluate KBS’s reliability, i.e. reliability criteria. Using arguments from philosophy of science, we define three criteria, thus providing a theoretical basis for judging the reliability of a KBS. Previous researchers have argued for or against specific criteria, however there is little agreement on definitions and groupings of these criteria (Nazareth and Kennedy 1993). The lack of agreement is, in part, due to the lack of a theoretical foundation underpinning KBS reliability. A theoretical viewpoint provides a basis for understanding and generalizing results. Without a theory to explain results, findings may be idiosyncratic to a particular system. Worse, findings that may not be idiosyncratic are easier to dismiss as they lack a basis for generalizability

THE ROLE OF COGNITIVE FIT IN THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SOFTWARE COMPREHENSION AND MODIFICATION

Although there is a long tradition of empirical studies of software developers, few studies have focused on software maintenance. Prior work is predicated on the belief that higher levels of software comprehension are associated with higher levels of performance on modification tasks. This study provides a more complete understanding of the relationship between software comprehension and modification. We conceptualize software maintenance as interlinking comprehension and modification, and argue that the relationship between the two is moderated by cognitive fit. Specifically, cognitive fit exists when the software maintainer's dominant mental representation of the software and their mental representation of the modification task emphasize the same type of knowledge. We hypothesize that when cognitive fit exists, greater improvements in comprehension are associated with higher levels of performance on a modification task. When cognitive fit does not exist, however, the software maintainer's mental representations of the software and of the modification task do not emphasize the same type of knowledge, which may mean that attention is devoted to comprehension at the expense of modification, resulting in lower performance on the modification task. In these circumstances, comprehension and modification tasks may interfere with each other, an effect known as dual-task interference. We therefore hypothesize that performance on a modification task is moderated by the fit between the mental representation of the software and that of the modification task. We tested our theory by varying cognitive fit to create matched and mismatched conditions in a single experiment that used IT professionals as subjects. Our findings support our theory: cognitive fit moderates the relationship between comprehension and modification. Specifically, changes in software comprehension and modification performance are positively related when cognitive fit exists and negatively related when cognitive fit does not exist. Our findings demonstrate the need to examine more complex relationships among the numerous types of tasks involved in software development rather than examining software comprehension alone.Ye

Complacency and Intentionality in IT Use and Continuance

Decision makers’ initial and continued use of information technology has traditionally been viewed as a mindful and intentional behavior. However, when a decision aid makes mostly correct recommendations, its users may become complacent. That is, users may accept recommendations without mindfully considering the recommendations or involvement with the aid. As such, they may be more likely to accept inaccurate recommendations. We draw on dual-processing theory to describe why users might behave in a mindless and complacent rather than mindful manner when using a decision aid. In our experimental investigation, we manipulated the accuracy of the recommendations provided by a decision aid and observe users’ performance on a complex decision task. Using the decision aid, participants completed five task trials. To assess complacency and intentionality, we compared subjective (i.e., self-report) and objective (i.e., gaze data via an eye tracker) use measures. Our analysis and comparison of the subjective and objective responses indicate that, contrary to widespread theorizing, decision aid usage and continuance appear to be less intentional than commonly believed. Further, we found that a decision aid’s users can be vulnerable to complacency even when recommendations are known to be inaccurate. Based on the findings of our study, we offer theoretical and practical implications regarding complacency and intentionality in technology use

A Confirmatory Factor Analysis Of The Attitude Towards Computers Instrument (ATCI)

A confirmatory factoranalysis was performed on the ATCI to test if it has a unidimensional structure. Data from 176 students was used to investigate the hypotheses. The results indicate that the instrument is a good fit with a single factor mode

HEARTS: A Knowledge-Based System for Initial Screening of Heart Transplant Patients

HEARTS (Hospital Evaluation Assistant for Rapid Transplant Screening) is a knowledge based system (KBS) which conducts initial screening to determine if patients with coronary artery disease may be placed on the waiting list for a heart transplant. Given the critical shortage of donor organs, the medical community can only place patients who are likely to benefit from an organ transplant on the waiting list. Unfortunately, the process for screening patients is lengthy, approximately 4 months. During this time a donor organ may become available, but those patients still being screened cannot be considered as a possible match. We describe the development, testing, and user response to HEARTS. HEARTS benefits patients by speeding the screening process and placing them on the waiting list more quickly. Members of a transplant committee benefit by being freed from conducting the initial screening to focus on more critical issues

Cognition Matters: Enduring Questions in Cognitive IS Research

We explore the history of cognitive research in information systems (IS) across three major research streams in which cognitive processes are of paramount importance: developing software, decision support, and human-computer interaction. Through our historical analysis, we identify “enduring questions” in each area. The enduring questions motivated long-standing areas of inquiry within a particular research stream. These questions, while perhaps unapparent to the authors cited, become evident when one adopts an historical perspective. While research in all three areas was influenced by changes in technologies, research techniques, and the contexts of use, these enduring questions remain fundamental to our understanding of how to develop, reason with, and interact with IS. In synthesizing common themes across the three streams, we draw out four cognitive qualities of information technology: interactivity, fit, cooperativity, and affordances. Together these cognitive qualities reflect IT’s ability to influence cognitive processes and ultimately task performance. Extrapolating from our historical analysis and looking at the operation of these cognitive qualities in concert, we envisage a bright future for cognitive research in IS: a future in which the study of cognition in IS extends beyond the individual to consider cognition distributed across teams, communities and systems, and a future involving the study of rich and dynamic social and organizational contexts in which the interplay between cognition, emotion, and attitudes provides a deeper explanation of behavior with IS