Using iterative refinement to find reusable software

Component libraries are the dominant paradigm for software reuse, but they suffer from a lack of tools that support the problem-solving process of locating relevant components. Most retrieval tools assume that retrieval is a simple matter of matching well-formed queries to a repository. But forming queries can be difficult. A designer´s understanding of the problem evolves while searching for a component, and large repositories often use an esoteric vocabulary. CodeFinder is a retrieval system that combines retrieval by reformulation (which supports incremental query construction) and spreading activation (which retrieves items related to the query) to help users find information. I designed it to investigate the hypothesis that this design makes for a more effective retrieval system. My study confirmed that it was more helpful to users seeking relevant information with ill-defined tasks and vocabulary mismatches than other query systems. The study supports the hypothesis that combining techniques effectively satisfies the kind of information needs typically encountered in software design.<>