An Eye Movement Study in Unconventional Usage of Different Software Tools.

Area of Science:

• Human-Computer Interaction
• Software Engineering
• Cognitive Psychology

Background:

• Creating intuitive User Interfaces (UIs) is a key challenge in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI).
• Understanding how different programming languages affect cognitive load during UI implementation is crucial for effective software development and education.
• Student audiences often exhibit varied approaches to software tool usage, necessitating research into accessible UI design.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the cognitive load associated with UI implementation using XAML versus classic C# within the .NET framework.
• To evaluate the readability and understandability of UI descriptions in XAML compared to C#.
• To analyze eye movement patterns as an objective measure of cognitive effort in UI code interpretation.

Main Methods:

• Comparative analysis of UI implementation in XAML and classic C#.
• Assessment of test subjects' cognitive load through knowledge tests and questionnaires.
• Recording and evaluation of eye movement parameters (fixations) during source code viewing.

Main Results:

• UI implementations described in XAML were found to be significantly easier to read and understand than those in classic C#.
• Eye movement analysis revealed a higher cognitive load when interpreting classic C# source code, evidenced by differences in fixation number and duration.
• Results from knowledge tests, questionnaires, and eye tracking consistently supported XAML's lower cognitive load.

Conclusions:

• XAML presents a more cognitively accessible approach to UI implementation compared to classic C#.
• The findings have implications for optimizing programming education and industrial software development practices.
• Selecting the appropriate UI development technology is critical for individual developers and teams to enhance efficiency and reduce cognitive burden.