Does Co-Development with AI Assistants Lead to More Maintainable Code? A Registered Report
<|reference_start|>Does Co-Development with AI Assistants Lead to More Maintainable Code? A Registered Report: [Background/Context] AI assistants like GitHub Copilot are transforming software engineering; several studies have highlighted productivity improvements. However, their impact on code quality, particularly in terms of maintainability, requires further investigation. [Objective/Aim] This study aims to examine the influence of AI assistants on software maintainability, specifically assessing how these tools affect the ability of developers to evolve code. [Method] We will conduct a two-phased controlled experiment involving professional developers. In Phase 1, developers will add a new feature to a Java project, with or without the aid of an AI assistant. Phase 2, a randomized controlled trial, will involve a different set of developers evolving random Phase 1 projects - working without AI assistants. We will employ Bayesian analysis to evaluate differences in completion time, perceived productivity, code quality, and test coverage.<|reference_end|>
@article{borg2024does,
    title={Does Co-Development with AI Assistants Lead to More Maintainable Code? A
  Registered Report},
    author={Markus Borg, Dave Hewett, Donald Graham, Noric Couderc, Emma
  S"oderberg, Luke Church, Dave Farley},
    journal={arXiv preprint arXiv:2408.10758},
    year={2024},
    archivePrefix={arXiv},
    eprint={2408.10758},
    primaryClass={cs.SE}
}