# Software Engineers' Information Seeking Behavior in Change Impact Analysis - An Interview Study

## TL;DR

This study explores software engineers' diverse information seeking behaviors during Change Impact Analysis, highlighting the need for flexible, individualized support tools that accommodate different preferences and practices.

## Contribution

It provides an empirical understanding of engineers' information seeking behaviors in CIA, emphasizing the importance of flexible support approaches over rigid, formal methods.

## Key findings

- Engineers exhibit varied information seeking behaviors during CIA.
- Some engineers find traceability less useful for impact analysis.
- Engineers prefer flexible support methods like searching, browsing, and tracing.

## Abstract

Software engineers working in large projects must navigate complex information landscapes. Change Impact Analysis (CIA) is a task that relies on engineers' successful information seeking in databases storing, e.g., source code, requirements, design descriptions, and test case specifications. Several previous approaches to support information seeking are task-specific, thus understanding engineers' seeking behavior in specific tasks is fundamental. We present an industrial case study on how engineers seek information in CIA, with a particular focus on traceability and development artifacts that are not source code. We show that engineers have different information seeking behavior, and that some do not consider traceability particularly useful when conducting CIA. Furthermore, we observe a tendency for engineers to prefer less rigid types of support rather than formal approaches, i.e., engineers value support that allows flexibility in how to practically conduct CIA. Finally, due to diverse information seeking behavior, we argue that future CIA support should embrace individual preferences to identify change impact by empowering several seeking alternatives, including searching, browsing, and tracing.