PoN-S : a systematic approach for applying the Physics of Notation (PoN)

Visual Modeling Languages (VMLs) are important instruments of communication between modelers and stakeholders. Thus, it is important to provide guidelines for designing VMLs. The most widespread approach for analyzing and designing concrete syntaxes for VMLs is the so-called Physics of Notation (PoN). PoN has been successfully applied in the analysis of several VMLs. However, despite its popularity, the application of PoN principles for designing VMLs has been limited. This paper presents a systematic approach for applying PoN in the design of the concrete syntax of VMLs. We propose here a design process establishing activities to be performed, their connection to PoN principles, as well as criteria for grouping PoN principles that guide this process. Moreover, we present a case study in which a visual notation for representing Ontology Pattern Languages is designed

Pattern-Based Analysis of the Control-flow Perspective of UML Activity Diagrams

The Unified Modelling Language (UML) is a well-known family of notations for software modelling. Recently, a new version of UML has been released. In this paper we examine the Activity Diagrams notation of this latest version of UML in terms of a collection of patterns developed for assessing control flow capabilities of languages used in the area of process-aware information systems. The purpose of this analysis is to assess relative strengths and weaknesses of control flow specification in Activity Diagrams and to identify ways of addressing potential deficiencies. In addition, the pattern-based analysis will yield typical solutions to practical process modelling problems and expose some of the ambiguities in the current UML 2.0 draft adopted specification

Analysis of UML Activities using Dynamic Meta Modeling

Abstract. Dynamic Meta Modeling (DMM) is a universal approach to defining semantics for languages syntactically grounded on meta models. DMM has been designed with the aim of getting highly understandable yet precise semantic models which in particular allow for a formal analysis. In this paper, we exemplify this by showing how DMM can be used to give a semantics to and define an associated analysis technique for UML Activities

Heuristic optimization for software project management with impacts of team efficiency

Most of the studies on project scheduling problems assume that every assigned participant or every team of the same number of participants, completes tasks with an equal efficiency, but this is usually not the case for real world problems. This paper presents a more realistic and complex model with extra consideration on team efficiency which are quantitatively measured on employee-task assignment. This study demonstrates the impacts of team efficiency in a well-studied software project management problem. Moreover, this study illustrates how a heuristic optimization method, population-based incremental learning, copes with such added complexity. The experimental results show that the resulting near optimal solutions not only satisfy constraints, but also reflect the impacts of team efficiency. The findings will hopefully motivate future studies on comprehensive understandings of the quality and efficiency of team work