A Preliminary Interview Study on Developers’ Perceptions of Code Smell Detection in Industry

Felipe Ribeiro*, Eduardo Fernandes, Eduardo Figueiredo

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingArticle in proceedingsResearchpeer-review

Abstract

This paper presents a preliminary interview study aimed to understand i) how practitioners perceive code smells and ii) whether/why developers use code smell detection tools. We carefully designed an structured interview protocol composed of six major questions. We interviewed seven developers, recruited by convenience, who work for major companies worldwide on software maintenance and evolution. We followed strict guidelines for thematic synthesis to analyze the interview texts. The perception of interviewees on code smells is in line with the traditional definition, even when developers lack academic formation. All interviewees were concerned with adding code smells while they produce code, although a half of them feel that their pairs do not share these concerns. Most interviewees use detection tools, but costs with tool setup and company culture may prevent developers from using them.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationQuality of Information and Communications Technology : 17th International Conference on the Quality of Information and Communications Technology, QUATIC 2024, Proceedings
EditorsAntonia Bertolino, João Pascoal Faria, Patricia Lago, Laura Semini
PublisherSpringer Science+Business Media
Publication date2024
Pages344-352
ISBN (Print)9783031702440
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2024
Event17th International Conference on the Quality of Information and Communications Technology, QUATIC 2024 - Pisa, Italy
Duration: 11. Sept 202413. Sept 2024

Conference

Conference17th International Conference on the Quality of Information and Communications Technology, QUATIC 2024
Country/TerritoryItaly
CityPisa
Period11/09/202413/09/2024
SeriesCommunications in Computer and Information Science
Volume2178 CCIS
ISSN1865-0929

Keywords

  • Code smell detection
  • Interview study
  • Software tool

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