Browsing by Author "Vinter, R.J."

Now showing items 1-11 of 11

    • Applying software metrics to formal specifications : a cognitive approach. 

      Vinter, R.J.; Loomes, M.J.; Kornbrot, D. (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), 1998)
      It is generally accepted that failure to reason correctly during the early stages of software development causes developers to make incorrect decisions which can lead to the introduction of faults or anomalies in systems. ...

    • Conditional reasoning in language and logic : transfer of non-logical heuristics? 

      Vinter, R.J.; Loomes, M.J.; Kornbrot, D. (University of Hertfordshire, 1997)
      Historically, the use of natural language based techniques for the purpose of software specification has tended to result in the production of ambiguous or verbose system descriptions. It is thought that this imprecision ...

    • Evaluating formal specifications : a cognitive approach 

      Vinter, R.J. (University of Hertfordshire, 1998)
      This thesis explores a new approach for supporting software engineering claims with empirical evidence and investigates whether the human potential for error when reasoning about formal specifications can be reduced. The ...

    • Formal methods: no cure for faulty reasoning 

      Loomes, M.; Vinter, R.J. (University of Hertfordshire, 1996)
      Owing to the benefits commonly associated with their use and links with scientific culture, formal methods have become closely identified with the design of safety-critical systems. But, despite the mathematical nature of ...

    • Measuring human inferential complexity in formal specifications : a predictive model for the Z notation 

      Vinter, R.J.; Loomes, M.J.; Kornbrot, D. (University of Hertfordshire, 1997)
      The entire history of software engineering informs us that failure to interpret or reason correctly with software specifications causes developers to make incorrect development decisions which can lead to the introduction ...

    • Quantified reasoning in formal specification : transfer of everyday errors and biases? 

      Vinter, R.J.; Loomes, M.J.; Kornbrot, D. (University of Hertfordshire, 1997)
      Cognitive studies of syllogistic reasoning appear to provide important pointers to the ways in which people reason with quantified statements. Previous natural language based studies of the syllogistic task suggest that ...

    • Reasoning about formal software specifications : an initial investigation 

      Vinter, R.J.; Loomes, M.J.; Kornbrot, D. (University of Hertfordshire, 1996)
      Within the software engineering community, it is widely believed that formal logic based notations could hold the key to overcoming some of the classical problems associated with program specification. Over the past three ...

    • A review of twenty formal specification notations 

      Vinter, R.J. (University of Hertfordshire, 1996)
      This report describes a general review that was conducted as part of the Human Cognition and Formal Methods research project at the University of Hertfordshire during the latter half of 1995. The main purpose of the survey ...

    • Seven lesser known myths of formal methods : uncovering the psychology of formal specification 

      Vinter, R.J.; Loomes, M.J.; Kornbrot, D. (University of Hertfordshire, 1996)
      Psychological research has shown that people are prone to systematic errors when reasoning about logical statements in natural language. The Human Cognition and Formal Methods research project aims to test whether people ...

    • A study of disjunctive and conjunctive reasoning in formal logic 

      Vinter, R.J.; Loomes, M.J.; Kornbrot, D. (University of Hertfordshire, 1997)
      When reasoning with statements containing logical connectives in everyday discourse, people sometimes employ reasoning strategies that do not comply with the dictates of logic yet are still sufficient for their purpose. ...

    • Transfer of non-logical tendencies to formal reasoning 

      Vinter, R.J. (University of Hertfordshire, 1996)
      Previous psychological studies have shown that people are prone to systematic errors and biases when reasoning about natural language statements connected by logical operators such as: if, and, or, not, all and every. In ...