On the impact of UML analysis models on source-code comprehensibility and modifiability

Scanniello, Giuseppe; Gravino, Carmine; Genero, Marcela; Cruz-Lemus, José A.; Tortora, Genoveffa

doi:10.1145/2491912

Cited by 41 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…Based on the results of the ex-post questionnaire, the authors concluded that possible explanations of these results could be that (1) the diagrammatic notation has poor scalability and for complex scenarios it becomes hard to understand, and (2) fully structured notation needs specific preparation and additional materials in order to be understood. Scanniello et al (2014a) conducted four controlled experiments with students and professional to investigate the effect of UML analysis models on comprehensibility and modifiability of source-code. The participants were asked to complete tasks using both treatments (i.e.…”

Section: Empirical Comparisons Of Software Modelling Notationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Model Comprehension for Security Risk Assessment: An Empirical Comparison of Tabular vs. Graphical Representations

et al. 2017

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Tabular and graphical representations are used to communicate security risk assessments for IT systems. However, there is no consensus on which type of representation better supports the comprehension of risks (such as the relationships between threats, vulnerabilities and security controls). Cognitive fit theory predicts that spatial relationships should be better captured by graphs. In this paper we report the results of two studies performed in two countries with 69 and 83 participants respectively, in which we assessed the effectiveness of tabular and graphical representations with respect to extraction correct information about security risks. The experimental results show that tabular risk models are more effective than the graphical ones with respect to simple comprehension tasks and in some cases are more effective for complex comprehension tasks. We explain our findings by proposing a simple extension of Vessey's cognitive fit theory as some linear spatial relationships could be also captured by tabular models.

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Section: Empirical Comparisons Of Software Modelling Notationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Model Comprehension for Security Risk Assessment: An Empirical Comparison of Tabular vs. Graphical Representations

et al. 2017

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“…Also, in the last years we have witnesses an increasing number of papers that tackle the impact of using models vs. not using them on aspects such as productivity and maintainaibility of the applications (see e.g. [37,6,22]). …”

Section: Background and Definitionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparison of a textual versus a graphical notation for the maintainability of MDE domain models: an empirical pilot study

et al. 2015

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Background: Models are a useful tool to increase the developer's productivity and satisfaction when performing maintenance tasks. However, in order to maximize these advantages, the right selection of notations must be made. Unfortunately, the software engineering field lacks a body of empirical evidence that supports such selection. A suboptimal decision in this regard may have negative consequences over the maintenance process. Goal: To compare a textual and a graphical notation with respect to the efficiency, effectiveness and satisfaction of software developers while performing analysability and modifiability tasks on two different applications. Method: We have carried out a quasi-experiment with 86 3rd-year students of the Computer Engineering degree at the University of Alicante. Subjects were randomly classified in two groups, and each group performed 20 maintenance tasks with a textual and a graphical notation. We measured and compared the efficiency, effectiveness and satisfaction of subjects assigned to each treatment. Conclusions:The analysed data show that the coverage of analysability and the efficiency of modifiability are affected by the type of notation used, regardless of the application. In both cases, subjects using the textual notation performed significantly better. This study needs to be replicated to extend our conclusions to other subject profiles and application types.

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“…It is important to mention some other important papers relating to the influence of the use of UML diagrams during software maintenance which were not found as part of [19] because of their dates of publication or because of the objective of the SLR: -Scanniello et al [12] used a family of controlled experiments to discover that the use of analysis UML diagrams (those obtained in an early phase or the development process, such as the requirements elicitation or analysis phase) does not significantly improve the comprehension and modifiability of source code with regard to the use of source code alone. These results are valid in the context of undergraduate students and small size systems related to well-known domains.…”

Section: Related Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…On the one hand, low LoD diagrams, like analysis models, do not appear to be helpful for source code maintenance [12]. On the other hand, high LoD diagrams are better understood than low LoD diagrams when performing software development [14].…”

Section: Related Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Are Forward Designed or Reverse-Engineered UML diagrams more helpful for code maintenance?: A family of experiments

Fernández-Sáez

Genero

Chaudron

et al. 2015

Information and Software Technology

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Context: Although various success stories of model-based approaches are reported in literature, there is still a significant resistance to model-based development in many software organizations because the UML is perceived to be expensive and not necessarily cost-effective. It is also important to gather empirical evidence in which context and under which conditions the UML makes or does not make a practical difference. Objective: Our objective is to provide empirical evidence as to which UML diagrams are more helpful during software maintenance: Forward Designed (FD) UML diagrams or Reverse Engineered (RE) UML diagrams. Method: We carried out a family of experiments which consisted of one experiment and two replications with a total of 169 Computer Science undergraduate students. Results: The individual data analysis and the meta-analysis conducted on the whole family, show a tendency in favor of FD diagrams and are significantly different as regards the effectiveness and efficiency of the subjects who participated and played the role of maintainers. The analysis of the qualitative data, collected using a post-experiment survey, reveals that the subjects did not consider RE diagrams helpful. Conclusions: Our findings show that there are some objective results (descriptive statistics or statistical tests) related to the maintenance effectiveness and efficiency in favor of the use of FD UML diagrams during software maintenance. Subjective opinions also lead us to recommend the use of UML diagrams (especially class diagrams) created during the design phase for software maintenance because they improve the understanding of the system in comparison with RE diagrams. Nevertheless, we can only assume that these results are valid in the context of Computer Science undergraduate students when working with small systems related to well-known domains, and other contexts should be explored in order to reaffirm the results in an industrial context by carrying out replications with professionals.

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On the impact of UML analysis models on source-code comprehensibility and modifiability

Cited by 41 publications

References 49 publications

Model Comprehension for Security Risk Assessment: An Empirical Comparison of Tabular vs. Graphical Representations

Model Comprehension for Security Risk Assessment: An Empirical Comparison of Tabular vs. Graphical Representations

Comparison of a textual versus a graphical notation for the maintainability of MDE domain models: an empirical pilot study

Are Forward Designed or Reverse-Engineered UML diagrams more helpful for code maintenance?: A family of experiments

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