Trends in the use of verbal protocol analysis in software engineering research

• Published in: Behaviour & information technology Vol. 22; no. 2; pp. 127 - 140
• Main Authors: Hughes, Janet, Parkes, Steve
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Taylor & Francis Group 01.03.2003; Taylor & Francis
• Subjects: Exact sciences and technology; Information and communication sciences; Information science. Documentation; Library and information science. General aspects; Sciences and techniques of general use; Software engineering; Use and user studies. Information needs; Verbal protocol analysis; Verbal protocol; Cognitive processus; Software development; Analysis; User study; Problem solving; Research; Verbalization; Software engineering
• ISSN: 0144-929X; 1362-3001
• DOI: 10.1080/0144929031000081341

This article reviews the technique of verbal protocol analysis and gives a profile of its use within software engineering research over the last two decades. An overview is given of the procedures used in verbal protocol analysis, and commonly-found difficulties in the application of the technique by researchers are described. The article reports on published efforts to develop tools to automate the procedures. A review of the literature shows trends in the use of the verbal protocol analysis in software engineering research from the 1980s to the present. Recurring themes of its purpose within software engineering research are identified, including the comparison of the behaviours of subjects with differing levels of expertise and the identification of effective software comprehension strategies. Advances and problems with the development of a general-purpose encoding scheme for verbal protocol analysis appropriate to a range of domains within software engineering are described.