Abstract— Tools are used at every stage of the software life
cycle with particular recent emphasis on the maintenance period.
Evidence shows that maintenance tools are underused, even by
the developers who create them. Integrated development
environments were created to empower developers, but they have
remained virtually unchanged since the late 1990s. This paper
examines the challenges of creating development tools, analyzes
the usability of two frequently used tools, and suggests that poor
tool usability may be inhibiting more efficient software
development.