IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/inm/orisre/v6y1995i3p286-299.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Research Report—The Relevance of Application Domain Knowledge: The Case of Computer Program Comprehension

Author

Listed:
  • Teresa M. Shaft

    (Quantitative Methods and Management Information Systems, The University of Tulsa, Tulsa, Oklahoma 74104)

  • Iris Vessey

    (Accounting and Information Systems, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana 47405)

Abstract

The field of software, has, to date, focused almost exclusively on application-independent approaches. In this research, we demonstrate the role of application domain knowledge in the processes used to comprehend computer programs. Our research sought to reconcile two apparently conflicting theories of computer program comprehension by proposing a key role for knowledge of the application domain under examination. We argue that programmers use more top-down comprehension processes when they are familiar with the application domain. When the application domain is unfamiliar, programmers use processes that are more bottom-up in nature. We conducted a protocol analysis study of 24 professional programmers comprehending programs in familiar and unfamiliar application domains. Our findings confirm our thesis.

Suggested Citation

  • Teresa M. Shaft & Iris Vessey, 1995. "Research Report—The Relevance of Application Domain Knowledge: The Case of Computer Program Comprehension," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 6(3), pages 286-299, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:orisre:v:6:y:1995:i:3:p:286-299
    DOI: 10.1287/isre.6.3.286
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/isre.6.3.286
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1287/isre.6.3.286?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Santanu Roy & Jay Mitra, 2015. "Strategic Capabilities for Public Sector-led Innovation: Managing Knowledge Worker Deployment at and Quality Performance of Public R&D Laboratories in India," Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Emerging Economies, Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India, vol. 1(2), pages 181-200, July.
    2. Vijay Khatri & Iris Vessey & V. Ramesh & Paul Clay & Sung-Jin Park, 2006. "Understanding Conceptual Schemas: Exploring the Role of Application and IS Domain Knowledge," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 17(1), pages 81-99, March.
    3. Karen Ruckman & Nilesh Saraf & Vallabh Sambamurthy, 2015. "Market Positioning by IT Service Vendors Through Imitation," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 26(1), pages 100-126, March.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:inm:orisre:v:6:y:1995:i:3:p:286-299. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Chris Asher (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/inforea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.