TY - GEN
T1 - A qualitative investigation of UML modeling conventions
AU - Bois, Bart Du
AU - Lange, Christian F.J.
AU - Demeyer, Serge
AU - Chaudron, Michel R.V.
PY - 2007
Y1 - 2007
N2 - Analogue to the more familiar notion of coding conventions, modeling conventions attempt to ensure uniformity and prevent common modeling defects. While it has been shown that modeling conventions can decrease defect density, it is currently unclear whether this decreased defect density results in higher model quality, i.e., whether models created with modeling conventions exhibit higher fitness for purpose. In a controlled experiment1 with 27 master-level computer science students, we evaluated quality differences between UML analysis and design models created with and without modeling conventions. We were unable to discern significant differences w.r.t. the clarity, completeness and validity of the information the model is meant to represent. We interpret our findings as an indication that modeling conventions should guide the analyst in identifying what information to model, as well as how to model it, lest their effectiveness be limited to optimizing merely syntactic quality.
AB - Analogue to the more familiar notion of coding conventions, modeling conventions attempt to ensure uniformity and prevent common modeling defects. While it has been shown that modeling conventions can decrease defect density, it is currently unclear whether this decreased defect density results in higher model quality, i.e., whether models created with modeling conventions exhibit higher fitness for purpose. In a controlled experiment1 with 27 master-level computer science students, we evaluated quality differences between UML analysis and design models created with and without modeling conventions. We were unable to discern significant differences w.r.t. the clarity, completeness and validity of the information the model is meant to represent. We interpret our findings as an indication that modeling conventions should guide the analyst in identifying what information to model, as well as how to model it, lest their effectiveness be limited to optimizing merely syntactic quality.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=38149002126&partnerID=8YFLogxK
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:38149002126
SN - 9783540694885
T3 - Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics)
SP - 91
EP - 100
BT - Models in Software Engineering - Workshops and Symposia at MoDELS 2006, Reports and Revised Selected Papers
T2 - Models in Software Engineering, Workshops and Symposia at MoDELS 2006
Y2 - 1 October 2006 through 6 October 2006
ER -