Abstract
Context: i∗ is one of the most influential languages in the Requirements Engineering research community. Perhaps due to its complexity and low adoption in industry, it became a natural candidate for studies aiming at improving its concrete syntax and the stakeholders' ability to correctly interpret i∗ models. Objectives: We evaluate the impact of semantic transparency on understanding and reviewing i∗ models, in the presence of a language key. Methods: We performed a quasi-experiment comparing the standard i∗ concrete syntax with an alternative that has an increased semantic transparency. We asked 57 novice participants to perform understanding and reviewing tasks on i∗ models, and measured their accuracy, speed and ease, using metrics of task success, time and effort, collected with eye-tracking and participants' feedback. Results: We found no evidence of improved accuracy or speed attributable to the alternative concrete syntax. Although participants' perceived ease was similar, they devoted significantly less visual effort to the model and the provided language key, when using the alternative concrete syntax. Conclusions: The context provided by the model and language key may mitigate the i∗ symbol recognition deficit reported in previous works. However, the alternative concrete syntax required a significantly lower visual effort.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | Proceedings - 2018 IEEE 26th International Requirements Engineering Conference, RE 2018 |
Editors | Daniel Amyot, Walid Maalej, Guenther Ruhe |
Publisher | Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) |
Pages | 228-239 |
Number of pages | 12 |
ISBN (Electronic) | 9781538674185 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 12 Oct 2018 |
Event | 26th IEEE International Requirements Engineering Conference, RE 2018 - Banff, Canada Duration: 20 Aug 2018 → 24 Aug 2018 |
Conference
Conference | 26th IEEE International Requirements Engineering Conference, RE 2018 |
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Country/Territory | Canada |
City | Banff |
Period | 20/08/18 → 24/08/18 |
Keywords
- Eye tracking
- IStar
- Physics of notations
- Social goal models