Masters Degrees (Computer Science)

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Impendulo: A Tool for Analysing Programmer Behaviour
(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2015-03) Jordaan, Pieter; Visser, Willem; Geldenhuys, Jaco; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Science. Department of Mathematical Sciences (Computer Science)
ENGLISH ABSTRACT : Automated submission systems for Computer Science courses are common- place today, however, these systems are typically solely focused on grading submissions and their ability to provide analysis and feedback is vastly under- utilised. This thesis seeks to address this by presenting Impendulo, a platform for analysing programmer behaviour. Impendulo allows one to study student per- formance at both a group and an individual level. This is achieved through the use of a customisable set of software analysis tools which Impendulo runs on user submissions. The results produced by the tools are parsed by Impendulo to produce rich feedback in the form of interactive charts, annotated code and detailed reports. In order to ascertain whether Impendulo's approach is viable, experimental trials were conducted with it throughout its development process. These trials consisted of a group of students using the Impendulo system while solving a set of programming problems. After each trial, the results were studied and used to determine which aspects of the system needed to be improved. At the end of Impendulo's development, all of the experiments were studied again to gain insight into the tested students' programming.