Dynamic Software Visualization with BusyBorg - A Proof of Concept

To create a common understanding of a software system, for users and developers, we believe that run-time visualization of both behavior and internal structure is critical. This is particularly true for distributed embedded systems, which are designed to be unobtrusive, making them difficult to comprehend for people who are not familiar with them. We suggest a novel method to visualize software behavior in real-time flexibly and comfortably, facilitating understanding of software. We conducted a feasibility study with a proof of-concept prototype. Our results indicate that visualizing structure and behavior in real-time supports software comprehension for new architects, developers and users, and can even provide new insights to experienced developers.