FeatureVista: Interactive feature visualization

Alexandre Bergel; Razan Ghzouli; Thorsten Berger; Michel R.V. Chaudron

doi:10.1145/3461001.3471154

FeatureVista: Interactive feature visualization

Alexandre Bergel, Razan Ghzouli, Thorsten Berger, Michel R.V. Chaudron

Engineering of Software-Intensive Systems

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution › Academic › peer-review

8 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Comprehending and characterizing the spread and interaction of features in a software system is know to be difficult and error-prone. This paper presents FeatureVista, a lightweight tool providing interactive, glyph-based, and iconic visualization concepts designed to visually characterize the feature locations in software assets (source code). FeatureVista supports navigating between software components and features in an equal fashion. Our pilot study indicates that FeatureVista is intuitive and supports comprehending features. It helps to precisely characterize relations among features in large software systems and to contrast explicit software component definitions (e.g., package, class, method) with annotated feature portions - -which so far was a largely manual and error-prone activity, albeit essential to get an adequate understanding of a software system. We suggest research directions for true, feature-oriented interfaces that can be used to manage software assets.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Proceedings of the 25th ACM International Systems and Software Product Line Conference, SPLC 2021
Editors	Mohammad Mousavi, Pierre-Yves Schobbens, Hugo Araujo, Ina Schaefer, Maurice H. ter Beek, Xavier Devroey, Jose Miguel Rojas, Monica Pinto, Leopoldo Teixeira, Thorsten Berger, Johannes Noppen, Iris Reinhartz-Berger, Paul Temple, Ferruccio Damiani, Justyna Petke
Publisher	Association for Computing Machinery, Inc
Pages	196-201
Number of pages	6
ISBN (Electronic)	9781450384698
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1145/3461001.3471154
Publication status	Published - 6 Sept 2021
Event	25th ACM International Systems and Software Product Line Conference, SPLC 2021 - Virtual, Online, United Kingdom Duration: 6 Sept 2021 → 11 Sept 2021

Publication series

Name	ACM International Conference Proceeding Series

Conference

Conference	25th ACM International Systems and Software Product Line Conference, SPLC 2021
Country/Territory	United Kingdom
City	Virtual, Online
Period	6/09/21 → 11/09/21

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
Bergel thanks the ANID Fondecyt Regular project number 1200067. Ghzouli and Berger thank the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation as well as the Swedish Research Council.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 ACM.

Funding

Bergel thanks the ANID Fondecyt Regular project number 1200067. Ghzouli and Berger thank the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation as well as the Swedish Research Council.

Access to Document

10.1145/3461001.3471154

Cite this

Bergel, A., Ghzouli, R., Berger, T., & Chaudron, M. R. V. (2021). FeatureVista: Interactive feature visualization. In M. Mousavi, P.-Y. Schobbens, H. Araujo, I. Schaefer, M. H. ter Beek, X. Devroey, J. M. Rojas, M. Pinto, L. Teixeira, T. Berger, J. Noppen, I. Reinhartz-Berger, P. Temple, F. Damiani, & J. Petke (Eds.), Proceedings of the 25th ACM International Systems and Software Product Line Conference, SPLC 2021 (pp. 196-201). (ACM International Conference Proceeding Series). Association for Computing Machinery, Inc. https://doi.org/10.1145/3461001.3471154

Bergel, Alexandre ; Ghzouli, Razan ; Berger, Thorsten et al. / FeatureVista : Interactive feature visualization. Proceedings of the 25th ACM International Systems and Software Product Line Conference, SPLC 2021. editor / Mohammad Mousavi ; Pierre-Yves Schobbens ; Hugo Araujo ; Ina Schaefer ; Maurice H. ter Beek ; Xavier Devroey ; Jose Miguel Rojas ; Monica Pinto ; Leopoldo Teixeira ; Thorsten Berger ; Johannes Noppen ; Iris Reinhartz-Berger ; Paul Temple ; Ferruccio Damiani ; Justyna Petke. Association for Computing Machinery, Inc, 2021. pp. 196-201 (ACM International Conference Proceeding Series).

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title = "FeatureVista: Interactive feature visualization",

abstract = "Comprehending and characterizing the spread and interaction of features in a software system is know to be difficult and error-prone. This paper presents FeatureVista, a lightweight tool providing interactive, glyph-based, and iconic visualization concepts designed to visually characterize the feature locations in software assets (source code). FeatureVista supports navigating between software components and features in an equal fashion. Our pilot study indicates that FeatureVista is intuitive and supports comprehending features. It helps to precisely characterize relations among features in large software systems and to contrast explicit software component definitions (e.g., package, class, method) with annotated feature portions - -which so far was a largely manual and error-prone activity, albeit essential to get an adequate understanding of a software system. We suggest research directions for true, feature-oriented interfaces that can be used to manage software assets.",

author = "Alexandre Bergel and Razan Ghzouli and Thorsten Berger and Chaudron, {Michel R.V.}",

note = "Funding Information: Bergel thanks the ANID Fondecyt Regular project number 1200067. Ghzouli and Berger thank the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation as well as the Swedish Research Council. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2021 ACM.; 25th ACM International Systems and Software Product Line Conference, SPLC 2021 ; Conference date: 06-09-2021 Through 11-09-2021",

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language = "English",

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Bergel, A, Ghzouli, R, Berger, T & Chaudron, MRV 2021, FeatureVista: Interactive feature visualization. in M Mousavi, P-Y Schobbens, H Araujo, I Schaefer, MH ter Beek, X Devroey, JM Rojas, M Pinto, L Teixeira, T Berger, J Noppen, I Reinhartz-Berger, P Temple, F Damiani & J Petke (eds), Proceedings of the 25th ACM International Systems and Software Product Line Conference, SPLC 2021. ACM International Conference Proceeding Series, Association for Computing Machinery, Inc, pp. 196-201, 25th ACM International Systems and Software Product Line Conference, SPLC 2021, Virtual, Online, United Kingdom, 6/09/21. https://doi.org/10.1145/3461001.3471154

FeatureVista: Interactive feature visualization. / Bergel, Alexandre; Ghzouli, Razan; Berger, Thorsten et al.
Proceedings of the 25th ACM International Systems and Software Product Line Conference, SPLC 2021. ed. / Mohammad Mousavi; Pierre-Yves Schobbens; Hugo Araujo; Ina Schaefer; Maurice H. ter Beek; Xavier Devroey; Jose Miguel Rojas; Monica Pinto; Leopoldo Teixeira; Thorsten Berger; Johannes Noppen; Iris Reinhartz-Berger; Paul Temple; Ferruccio Damiani; Justyna Petke. Association for Computing Machinery, Inc, 2021. p. 196-201 (ACM International Conference Proceeding Series).

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution › Academic › peer-review

TY - GEN

T1 - FeatureVista

T2 - 25th ACM International Systems and Software Product Line Conference, SPLC 2021

AU - Bergel, Alexandre

AU - Ghzouli, Razan

AU - Berger, Thorsten

AU - Chaudron, Michel R.V.

N1 - Funding Information: Bergel thanks the ANID Fondecyt Regular project number 1200067. Ghzouli and Berger thank the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation as well as the Swedish Research Council. Publisher Copyright: © 2021 ACM.

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N2 - Comprehending and characterizing the spread and interaction of features in a software system is know to be difficult and error-prone. This paper presents FeatureVista, a lightweight tool providing interactive, glyph-based, and iconic visualization concepts designed to visually characterize the feature locations in software assets (source code). FeatureVista supports navigating between software components and features in an equal fashion. Our pilot study indicates that FeatureVista is intuitive and supports comprehending features. It helps to precisely characterize relations among features in large software systems and to contrast explicit software component definitions (e.g., package, class, method) with annotated feature portions - -which so far was a largely manual and error-prone activity, albeit essential to get an adequate understanding of a software system. We suggest research directions for true, feature-oriented interfaces that can be used to manage software assets.

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M3 - Conference contribution

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T3 - ACM International Conference Proceeding Series

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EP - 201

BT - Proceedings of the 25th ACM International Systems and Software Product Line Conference, SPLC 2021

A2 - Mousavi, Mohammad

A2 - Schobbens, Pierre-Yves

A2 - Araujo, Hugo

A2 - Schaefer, Ina

A2 - ter Beek, Maurice H.

A2 - Devroey, Xavier

A2 - Rojas, Jose Miguel

A2 - Pinto, Monica

A2 - Teixeira, Leopoldo

A2 - Berger, Thorsten

A2 - Noppen, Johannes

A2 - Reinhartz-Berger, Iris

A2 - Temple, Paul

A2 - Damiani, Ferruccio

A2 - Petke, Justyna

PB - Association for Computing Machinery, Inc

Y2 - 6 September 2021 through 11 September 2021

ER -

Bergel A, Ghzouli R, Berger T, Chaudron MRV. FeatureVista: Interactive feature visualization. In Mousavi M, Schobbens PY, Araujo H, Schaefer I, ter Beek MH, Devroey X, Rojas JM, Pinto M, Teixeira L, Berger T, Noppen J, Reinhartz-Berger I, Temple P, Damiani F, Petke J, editors, Proceedings of the 25th ACM International Systems and Software Product Line Conference, SPLC 2021. Association for Computing Machinery, Inc. 2021. p. 196-201. (ACM International Conference Proceeding Series). doi: 10.1145/3461001.3471154

FeatureVista: Interactive feature visualization

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