ITR: Collaborative Research: Dependable End-User Software

玛格丽特·伯内特俄勒冈州立大学在授权最终用户能够编写他们自己的程序方面已经做了大量的工作，因此，用户确实正在这样做。事实上，到2005年，美国的最终用户程序员人数预计将达到5500万人，而专业程序员只有275万人。这些终端用户使用的编程系统包括电子表格系统、网络创作工具和用于演示教育模拟所需行为的图形语言。使用这样的系统，终端用户以教育模拟、电子表格和动态电子商务网络应用程序等形式创建软件。然而，不幸的是，错误在最终用户软件中无处不在，所产生的影响有时是巨大的。当最终用户创建的软件不可靠时，对于那些退休基金、信用记录、电子商务收入，甚至健康和安全依赖于基于该软件做出的决策的人来说，可能会产生严重的后果。为了解决这个问题，我们建议从根本上转变为一种新的思维方式来思考最终用户创建软件的方式。我们的目的是解决以下研究问题：是否有可能将严格的软件工程方法的好处带给最终用户？我们不建议将最终用户转变为工程师。相反，我们的计划是使系统能够创建与这些用户协作的软件，在软件开发范例中，将传统上分离的功能结合在一起，将指定、设计、实现、组件集成、调试、测试和维护整合到紧密集成、高度交互的环境中。这些环境将采用新的、增量的反馈设备，由分析和推理支持，帮助用户在使用软件时对其软件的可靠性进行推理，其方式尊重用户的问题解决方向，达到在现有软件开发环境中前所未有的程度。

ABSTRACT0325273Margaret BurnettOregon State UThere has been considerable work in empowering end users to be able to write their own programs, and as aresult, users are indeed doing so. In fact, the number of end-user programmers in the United States is expected to reach 55 million by 2005, as compared to only 2.75 million professional programmers. The programming systems used by these end users include spreadsheet systems, web authoring tools, and graphical languages for demonstrating the desired behavior of educational simulations. Using such systems, end users create software, in forms such as educational simulations, spreadsheets, and dynamic e-business web applications. Unfortunately, however, errors are pervasive in end-user software, and the resulting impact is sometimes enormous. When the software end users create is not dependable, there can be serious consequences for the people whose retirement funds, credit histories, e-business revenues, and even health and safety rely on decisions made based on that software.To address this problem, we propose a fundamental paradigm shift to a new way of thinking about the wayend users create software. Our intent is to address the following research question:Is it possible to bring the bene.ts of rigorous software engineering methodologies to end users?We do not propose to transform end users into engineers. Rather, our plan is to enable systems to createsoftware to collaborate with those users, in a software development paradigm that combines traditionally separate functions blending speci.cation, design, implementation, component integration, debugging, testing, and maintenance into tightly integrated, highly interactive environments. These environments will employ new, incremental, feedback devices supported by analysis and inferential reasoning to help the user reason about the dependability of their software as they work with it, in a manner that respects the user's problem-solving directions to an extent unprecedented in existing software development environments.