Systematic Quality Analysis and Improvement for Block-Based Software: Promoting the Culture of Quality From the Ground Up

现代社会的关键功能依赖于基于软件的系统，软件质量不仅严重影响软件应用程序的效用，而且还影响它们的安全性。目前，标准的计算机科学（CS）课程很晚才向计算机学习者介绍这个关键概念，或者完全忽略了它。为了解决这个问题，这个项目从根本上重新思考了教学软件质量的过程和实践，以从头开始促进质量文化。该项目通过基于质量控制的专业软件工程实践（称为“代码重构”）开发软件和相关的教学材料，在编程基础的同时探索教学软件质量。这种教育干预为国家利益服务，提供了一条简单的途径，将经过验证的、真实的软件工程实践引入计算机科学入门课程，向新手程序员传授遵循原则的软件工程实践的重要性。这个项目将建立在基于块的编程的成功和普及的基础上，这是一种非常有效的入门学习者的教学工具。研究小组将调查基于块的编程背景下的软件质量，以及如何将经过验证的、现实世界的软件工程实践重构（一种保留语义的程序转换，可以提高代码和设计质量）引入CS入门课程，以促进质量文化。这个项目将开发一种新的教育干预方法，用于向入门级学生教授软件质量概念，包括教学策略和学习材料。这项工作还将有助于为基于块的语言创建重构的概念基础，具体实现为基于块的编程环境的重构支持。最后，项目团队将系统地评估开发的教育干预，以确定其在培养学生知识、技能和实践方面的有效性，这些都是提高软件质量所必需的。

The key functions of modern society depend on software-based systems, with software quality critically affecting not only the utility of software applications but also their safety and security. Currently, the standard computer science (CS) curriculum introduces computing learners to this key concept very late or leaves it out completely. To address this problem, this project fundamentally rethinks the process and practices of teaching software quality to promote the culture of quality from the ground up. This project explores teaching software quality alongside the fundamentals of programming, by developing software and related teaching materials based on a professional software engineering practice for quality control known as "code refactoring." This educational intervention serves the national interest by providing a simple pathway for bringing proven, real-world software engineering practices to the introductory computer science curriculum, imparting the importance of following principled software engineering practices to novice programmers.This project will build on the success and popularity of block-based programming, a highly effective pedagogical tool for introductory learners. The research team will investigate software quality in the context of block-based programming and how the proven, real-world software engineering practice of refactoring, a semantics-preserving program transformation that improves code and design quality, can be introduced to promote the culture of quality in introductory CS curriculum. This project will develop a novel educational intervention for teaching software quality concepts to introductory students, including teaching strategies and learning materials. This work will also help create a conceptual foundation of refactoring for block-based languages, concretely realized as refactoring support for block-based programming environments. Finally, the project team will systematically evaluate the developed educational intervention to determine its effectiveness in fostering student knowledge, skills, and practices, required to improve software quality.