Towards understanding the understandability of UML models

Chintan Amrit, Niek Tax

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionAcademicpeer-review

2 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Metrics for conceptual diagram understandability are generally based on a particular modelling notation and do not consider multiple perspectives in arriving at measurable metrics. This paper aims to be a step towards integration of multiple perspectives of conceptual model understandability. We demonstrate how one can arrive at a suite of metrics for conceptual diagram understandability. We use a questionnaire based on a few selected metrics to gain insights on the relative impact of different perspectives (namely, the notation and aesthetic perspectives) on conceptual diagram understandability. The main result of this study is that given a particular modelling notation (UML) and novice modellers, certain aesthetic aspects seem to have a greater impact on perceived diagram understandability than the notation aspects. We conclude with a call for further research in order to draw valid conclusions about the overall impact of the aesthetic and notation perspectives on diagram understandability.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationProceedings of the 6th International Workshop on Modeling in Software Engineering (MiSE 2014), 2-3 June, 2014, Hyderabad, India
Place of PublicationNew York
PublisherAssociation for Computing Machinery, Inc
Pages49-54
Number of pages6
ISBN (Electronic)9781450328494
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2 Jun 2014
Event6th International Workshop on Modeling in Software Engineering, MiSE 2014 - Hyderabad, India
Duration: 2 Jun 20143 Jun 2014
Conference number: 6

Conference

Conference6th International Workshop on Modeling in Software Engineering, MiSE 2014
Abbreviated titleMiSE 2014
Country/TerritoryIndia
CityHyderabad
Period2/06/143/06/14

Keywords

  • Diagram understandability
  • Model syntax
  • UML

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