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Websites are frequently used by programmers to support the development process. This paper investigates programmer-Web interactions when coding, and combines observations of behaviour with assessments of the resulting source code. We report on an online observational study with ten undergraduate student programmers as they engaged in programming tasks of varying complexity. Screens were recorded of participants' activities, and each participated in an interview. Videos and interviews were thematically analysed. Novice programmers employed various strategies for seeking and utilising online knowledge. The resulting source code was examined to determine the extent to which it met requirements and whether it contained errors. The source code analysis revealed that coding with the websites involved more coding time and effort, but increased the possibility of producing correct code. However, coding with websites also introduced instances of either incorrect or non-executable source code.

Interactive information dashboards can help both specialists and the general public understand complex datasets; but interacting with these dashboards often presents users with challenges such as understanding and verifying the presented information. To overcome these challenges, developers first need to acquire a thorough understanding of user perspectives, including strategies that users take when presented with problematic dashboards. We interviewed seventeen dashboard developers to establish (i) their understanding of user problems, (ii) the adaptations introduced as a result, and (iii) whether user-tailored dashboards can cater for users' individual differences. We find that users' literacy does not typically align with that required to use dashboards, while dashboard developers struggle with keeping up with changing requirements. We also find that developers are able to propose solutions to most users' problems but not all. Encouragingly, our findings also highlight that tailoring dashboards to individual user needs is not only desirable, but also feasible. These findings inform future dashboard design recommendations that can mitigate the identified challenges including recommendations for data presentation and visual literacy., Comment: Accepted at NordiCHI 2022