Analysis of UML

This document presents an analysis of the Unified Modelling Language (UML). It includes an introduction to the different kinds of UML diagrams, an overview of the unified software development methodology, a survey concerning the availability of tools that support UML and an example of the use of UML

Preliminary findings from a survey on the MD state of the practice

In the context of an Italian research project, this paper reports on an on-line survey, performed with 155 software professionals, with the aim of investigating about their opinions and experiences in modeling during software development and Model-driven engineering usage. The survey focused also on used modeling languages, processes and tools. A preliminary analysis of the results confirmed that Model-driven engineering, and more in general software modeling, are very relevant phenomena. Approximately 68% of the sample use models during software development. Among then, 44% generate code starting from models and 16% execute them directly. The preferred language for modeling is UML but DSLs are used as wel

Relevance, benefits, and problems of software modelling and model driven techniques—A survey in the Italian industry

Context Claimed benefits of software modelling and model driven techniques are improvements in productivity, portability, maintainability and interoperability. However, little effort has been devoted at collecting evidence to evaluate their actual relevance, benefits and usage complications. Goal The main goals of this paper are: (1) assess the diffusion and relevance of software modelling and MD techniques in the Italian industry, (2) understand the expected and achieved benefits, and (3) identify which problems limit/prevent their diffusion. Method We conducted an exploratory personal opinion survey with a sample of 155 Italian software professionals by means of a Web-based questionnaire on-line from February to April 2011. Results Software modelling and MD techniques are very relevant in the Italian industry. The adoption of simple modelling brings common benefits (better design support, documentation improvement, better maintenance, and higher software quality), while MD techniques make it easier to achieve: improved standardization, higher productivity, and platform independence. We identified problems, some hindering adoption (too much effort required and limited usefulness) others preventing it (lack of competencies and supporting tools). Conclusions The relevance represents an important objective motivation for researchers in this area. The relationship between techniques and attainable benefits represents an instrument for practitioners planning the adoption of such techniques. In addition the findings may provide hints for companies and universitie

Object-oriented modelling with unified modelling language 2.0 for simple software application based on agile methodology

Unified modelling language (UML) 2.0 introduced in 2002 has been developing and influencing object-oriented software engineering and has become a standard and reference for information system analysis and design modelling. There are many concepts and theories to model the information system or software application with UML 2.0, which can make ambiguities and inconsistencies for a novice to learn to how to model the system with UML especially with UML 2.0. This article will discuss how to model the simple software application by using some of the diagrams of UML 2.0 and not by using the whole diagrams as suggested by agile methodology. Agile methodology is considered as convenient for novices because it can deliver the information technology environment to the end-user quickly and adaptively with minimal documentation. It also has the ability to deliver best performance software application according to the customer's needs. Agile methodology will make simple model with simple documentation, simple team and simple tools.Comment: 15 pages, 30 figure

Translating UML State Machines to Coloured Petri Nets Using Acceleo: A Report

UML state machines are widely used to specify dynamic systems behaviours. However its semantics is described informally, thus preventing the application of model checking techniques that could guarantee the system safety. In a former work, we proposed a formalisation of non-concurrent UML state machines using coloured Petri nets, so as to allow for formal verification. In this paper, we report our experience to implement this translation in an automated manner using the model-to-text transformation tool Acceleo. Whereas Acceleo provides interesting features that facilitated our translation process, it also suffers from limitations uneasy to overcome.Comment: In Proceedings ESSS 2014, arXiv:1405.055

Data in Business Process Models. A Preliminary Empirical Study

Traditional activity-centric process modeling languages treat data as simple black boxes acting as input or output for activities. Many alternate and emerging process modeling paradigms, such as case handling and artifact-centric process modeling, give data a more central role. This is achieved by introducing lifecycles and states for data objects, which is beneficial when modeling data-or knowledge-intensive processes. We assume that traditional activity-centric process modeling languages lack the capabilities to adequately capture the complexity of such processes. To verify this assumption we conducted an online interview among BPM experts. The results not only allow us to identify various profiles of persons modeling business processes, but also the problems that exist in contemporary modeling languages w.r.t. The modeling of business data. Overall, this preliminary empirical study confirms the necessity of data-awareness in process modeling notations in general

Metamodel Instance Generation: A systematic literature review

Modelling and thus metamodelling have become increasingly important in Software Engineering through the use of Model Driven Engineering. In this paper we present a systematic literature review of instance generation techniques for metamodels, i.e. the process of automatically generating models from a given metamodel. We start by presenting a set of research questions that our review is intended to answer. We then identify the main topics that are related to metamodel instance generation techniques, and use these to initiate our literature search. This search resulted in the identification of 34 key papers in the area, and each of these is reviewed here and discussed in detail. The outcome is that we are able to identify a knowledge gap in this field, and we offer suggestions as to some potential directions for future research.Comment: 25 page

An extensible benchmark and tooling for comparing reverse engineering approaches

Various tools exist to reverse engineer software source code and generate design information, such as UML projections. Each has specific strengths and weaknesses, however no standardised benchmark exists that can be used to evaluate and compare their performance and effectiveness in a systematic manner. To facilitate such comparison in this paper we introduce the Reverse Engineering to Design Benchmark (RED-BM), which consists of a comprehensive set of Java-based targets for reverse engineering and a formal set of performance measures with which tools and approaches can be analysed and ranked. When used to evaluate 12 industry standard tools performance figures range from 8.82\% to 100\% demonstrating the ability of the benchmark to differentiate between tools. To aid the comparison, analysis and further use of reverse engineering XMI output we have developed a parser which can interpret the XMI output format of the most commonly used reverse engineering applications, and is used in a number of tools