Abstract:
End users develop more software than any other group of programmers, using software authoring devices such as email filtering editors, by-demonstration macro builders, and spreadsheet environments. Despite this, there has been only a little research on finding ways to help these programmers with the dependability of the software they create. We have been working to address this problem in several ways, one
of which includes supporting end-user debugging activities through fault localization techniques. Our preliminary studies have shown that some fault localization techniques can provide end users with effective feedback; however, these studies provide no guidance into the factors that impact technique effectiveness. This paper presents the results of an empirical study that examines the impact of two orthogonal factors on the effectiveness of fault localization techniques. Our results have implications for fault localization for end users, and highlight the importance of separately evaluating
each factor in a fault localization technique.
