An experimental study on use-case and class diagrams in UML
The dominant modeling language in the software industry has been unified modeling language (UML). In the object-oriented modeling, UML has been termed as the de facto standard. Despite the status, there have been controversial reviews. For example, there are practitioners who argue that the use-case diagrams are not significant in the requirements analysis and should not form part of UML (SIau & Lee, 2004). Therefore, the aim of the study was to identify the roles and values of the use case diagrams when applied in conjunction with class diagrams.
The application of use-case and class diagrams is controversial. For instance, there are arguments that in the rational unified process (RUP) for UML, the use cases serve as guiding techniques, which address the various aspects of the users. On the other hand, there are studies that have pointed to problems with the use-cases. These controversies relate to the value of the use-case diagrams in the requirements analysis.
The study applied model interpretation study design. Questionnaires and process tracing techniques were applied to capture data. The study participants were university students. The inclusion was based on a volunteer basis but limited to students who had completed at least one course in object-oriented UML. The data collection involved verbal utterances of the subjects while the analysis entailed verbal protocol analysis. Two problem domains that varied in complexity were used.
The information from the two types of diagrams was found to be different and did not overlap. The use-case diagrams were found to be easier to interpret compared to the class diagrams. This enabled the study participants to have a complete understanding of the mode.
The use-case diagrams and class diagrams show varied aspects of the problem domain and diagrams are useful in the requirements analysis. In requirements analysis, there is the need for coexistence of use-case and class diagram.
UML/SysML semantic tunings
In software engineering, model-driven engineering approaches have become common and are being used in different domains. There are different languages applied in the embedded engineering. Two classic examples of the languages used in the context include UML and SysML. The languages allow the developers to carry out early verification at model level by the use of various automation techniques such as model checking technique. However, the model checking technique presents the challenge of scalability when applied on large models (Ober, Ober, Dragomir, & Aboussoror, 2011). This limitation forms the basis of this article. It explores semantics optimization approach by focusing on the semantics of optimisation of composite structures.
Focus has been on the verification and validation based on theoretical results. The scalability of the theoretical results has been the major challenge as the software engineers try to integrate the results in high-level model frameworks. Previous studies have presented OMEGA 2; a framework meant to overcome the challenge. The OMEGA 2 entails set of rules that lead to composite structures that are sound and well typed.
In order to determine the scalability, a fully fledged industrial case study was conducted. The OMEGA 2 tool tests were applied to an industrial case study i.e. solar generation system (SGS) and a set of small toy examples. The data collection entailed obtaining feed-backs.
Ober et al. (2011) established that interface and port’s notion in the cases were simpler compared to the complex counterparts defined by UML 2.0 standard. The most important observation was the behaviour of ports. The UML standard implied that ports represent active entities. The absence of machines attached to the ports is a pointer of possible optimisations.
In conclusion, the performance of effective validation requires optimisation of the existing semantics. In addition, there is the need for communities using the languages to set a repository of semantics variants. This will help in creating semantics that are customised.
Reference
Ober, I., Ober, I., Dragomir, I., & Aboussoror, E. (2011). UML/SysML semantic tunings. Innovations in Systems and Software Engineering, 7(4), 257-264.
SIau, K., & Lee, L. (2004). Are use case and class diagrams complementary in requirements analysis? An experimental study on use case and class diagrams in UML. Requirements Engineering, 9(1), 229-237.