Towards A Broader Acceptance Of Formal Verification Tools: The Role Of Education (1906.01430v1)

Abstract: Formal methods yet advantageous, face challenges towards wide acceptance and adoption in software development practices. The major reason being presumed complexity. The issue can be addressed by academia with a thoughtful plan of teaching and practise. The user study detailed in this paper is examining AutoProof tool with the motivation to identify complexities attributed to formal methods. Participants' (students of Masters program in Computer Science) performance and feedback on the experience with formal methods assisted us in extracting specific problem areas that effect tool usability. The study results infer, along with improvements in verification tool functionalities, teaching program must be modified to include pre-requisite courses to make formal methods easily adapted by students and promoting their usage in software development process.