Reusing processes and documenting processes: toward an integrated framework

Abstract

This paper presents a cognitive typology of reuse processes, and a cognitive typology of documenting processes. Empirical studies on design with reuse and on software documenting provide evidence for a generalized cognitive model. First, these studies emphasize the cyclical nature of design: cycles of planning, writing and revising occur. Second, natural language documentation follows the hierarchy of cognitive entities manipulated during design. Similarly software reuse involves exploiting various types of knowledge depending on the phase of design in which reuse is involved. We suggest that these observations can be explained based on cognitive models of text processing: the van Dijk and Kintsch (1983) model of text comprehension, and the Hayes and Flower (1980) model of text production. Based on our generalized cognitive model, we suggest a framework for documenting reusable components.

References in corpus (1)

• Reasoning from a schema and from an analog in software code reuse

Cited by in corpus (3)

• Object-Oriented Program Comprehension: Effect of Expertise, Task and Phase
• Memory of past designs: distinctive roles in individual and collective design
• Assessing the cognitive consequences of the object-oriented approach: a survey of empirical research on object-oriented design by individuals and teams