What You Need is What You Get: Theory of Mind for an LLM-Based Code Understanding Assistant

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Richards, Jonan, Wessel, Mairieli
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2024
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author Richards, Jonan
Wessel, Mairieli
author_facet Richards, Jonan
Wessel, Mairieli
contents A growing number of tools have used Large Language Models (LLMs) to support developers' code understanding. However, developers still face several barriers to using such tools, including challenges in describing their intent in natural language, interpreting the tool outcome, and refining an effective prompt to obtain useful information. In this study, we designed an LLM-based conversational assistant that provides a personalized interaction based on inferred user mental state (e.g., background knowledge and experience). We evaluate the approach in a within-subject study with fourteen novices to capture their perceptions and preferences. Our results provide insights for researchers and tool builders who want to create or improve LLM-based conversational assistants to support novices in code understanding.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2408_04477
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle What You Need is What You Get: Theory of Mind for an LLM-Based Code Understanding Assistant
Richards, Jonan
Wessel, Mairieli
Software Engineering
A growing number of tools have used Large Language Models (LLMs) to support developers' code understanding. However, developers still face several barriers to using such tools, including challenges in describing their intent in natural language, interpreting the tool outcome, and refining an effective prompt to obtain useful information. In this study, we designed an LLM-based conversational assistant that provides a personalized interaction based on inferred user mental state (e.g., background knowledge and experience). We evaluate the approach in a within-subject study with fourteen novices to capture their perceptions and preferences. Our results provide insights for researchers and tool builders who want to create or improve LLM-based conversational assistants to support novices in code understanding.
title What You Need is What You Get: Theory of Mind for an LLM-Based Code Understanding Assistant
topic Software Engineering
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2408.04477