Characterization of Techniques and Tools of Visualization Applied to Software Comprehension

This study aimed to make a characterization about how information visualization has been applied on software comprehension with relation to techniques and tools proposed by literature. Systematic Mapping was adopted as the method to guide the investigation process. The findings, although not being definitive, points direction over important questions such as what kind of artifacts and life-cycle phase have been more considered. It was also investigated how these studies have been evaluated, how they evolved in the main digital libraries over the last decade, and what points deserves further attention, through new research.