Metamodel-based model conformance and multiview consistency checking

Model-driven development, using languages such as UML and BON, often makes use of multiple diagrams (e.g., class and sequence diagrams) when modeling systems. These diagrams, presenting different views of a system of interest, may be inconsistent. A metamodel provides a unifying framework in which to ensure and check consistency, while at the same time providing the means to distinguish between valid and invalid models, that is, conformance. Two formal specifications of the metamodel for an object-oriented modeling language are presented, and it is shown how to use these specifications for model conformance and multiview consistency checking. Comparisons are made in terms of completeness and the level of automation each provide for checking multiview consistency and model conformance. The lessons learned from applying formal techniques to the problems of metamodeling, model conformance, and multiview consistency checking are summarized

Transformation of Dynamic Aspects of Uml Models Into Lotos Behaviour Expressions

The lack of formal semantics for the UML creates many ambiguity problems, especially when real-time systems are specified. The paper proposes an approach to a formal definition of UML statecharts. Main features of the UML statecharts are described, and next, a transformation of the UML statecharts into LOTOS is defined

Refinement of UML collaborations

The paper concerns the concept of refinement as a commonly used design practice in the software development process. The refinement relationship is formulated and formally expressed for UML collaborations. Collaborations are suitable for presenting the proposed approach as they represent both static and dynamic aspects of a modeled system or its part, for example, a use case. Our approach to refinement is based on the rule of preserving the observable behavior of a modeled system. The introduced notion of sub-collaborations allows us to refine collaboration diagrams in a systematic way

Consistency Problems in UML-Based Software Development

This survey of the workshop series Consistency Problems in UML-based Software Development aims to help readers to find the guidelines of the papers. First, general considerations about consistency and related problems are discussed. Next, the approaches proposed in the workshop papers to handle the problems are categorized and summarized. The last section includes extended abstracts of the papers from the current workshop

Domain-specific model verification with QVT

Model verification is the process of checking models for known problems (or anti-patterns). We propose a new approach to declaratively specify and automatically detect problems in domain-specific models using QVT (Query/View/Transformation). Problems are specified with QVT-Relations transformations from models where elements involved in problems are identified, to result models where problem occurrences are reported in a structured and concise manner. The approach uses a standard formalism, applies generically to any MOF-based modeling language and has well-defined detection semantics. We apply the approach by defining a catalog of problems for a particular but important kind of models, namely metamodels. We report on a case study where we used the catalog to verify recent revisions of the UML metamodel. We detected many problem occurrences that we analyzed and helped resolve in the (latest) UML 2.4 revision. As a result, the metamodel was found to have improved dramatically by the experts defining it