Evaluating the usability of integrated development environments
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.64966/ingeniare.v34.05Keywords:
Usability, programming environment, usability perceptionAbstract
Programming can be a difficult task for both students and professionals, requiring programming environments that include editors, compilers, and debugging tools. This study assessed the usability of three commonly used programming environments in higher education, NetBeans, Eclipse, and Dev-C++, through a System Usability Scale (SUS) survey, with participation from 143 computer engineering students. NetBeans received the highest usability perception, but all three IDEs scored below the usability threshold (SUS score of 68), particularly struggling in learnability. A consultation with experts was also conducted to gather additional information. Expert feedback from seven professionals highlighted NetBeans, Eclipse, and Visual Studio as the most commonly used IDEs, emphasizing simplicity and rich features as their key strengths. Key areas for improvement include usability, customizable interfaces, and integration of AI-assisted coding. Future work will include evaluating Visual Studio Code and the usability of AI code generation tools.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Jenny Morales, Fabián Silva-Aravena, Paula Sáez
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors retain copyright of their work and grant the journal the right of first publication under the Creative Commons CC-BY Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction provided the original authorship and the journal’s first publication are acknowledged.
