Tools are used at every stage of the software life cycle with particular recent emphasis on the maintenance period. Evidence shows that maintenance tools are underused, even by the developers who create them. Integrated development environments were created to empower developers, but they have remained virtually unchanged since the late 1990s. This paper examines the challenges of creating development tools, analyzes the usability of two frequently used tools, and suggests that poor tool usability may be inhibiting more efficient software development.
['Brian S. Dillon', 'Richard Thompson']
Software development and tool usability