Qualitative Analysis of User Preference with UML Interaction Diagrams Abstract.pdf

Qualitative Analysis of User Preference with UML Interaction Diagrams 1 1 1 2 Jennifer Swan , Trevor Barker , Carol Britton , Maria Kutar 1 2 University of Hertfordshire , University of Salford Abstract It is of key importance that all representations used in the software development process can be clearly understood by all who must use them. User preference is one area that may influence the effectiveness of the representations presented. Described in this paper is a study that was carried out to explore the relationship between user preference for UML sequence and collaboration diagrams. Analysis suggests sequence diagrams as being easier to follow and understand. It is hoped a further more formal study will provide more detail on reasons for preference for one of the diagram types. Introduction The UML (Booch, 1999) is a general purpose visual modelling language that is used to specify, visualize, construct, and document the artifacts of a software system.’ [1]. Diagrams are widely used as a tool to aid software development and the selection of appropriate tools can influence the success of the development process. The choice of diagram for particular projects often reflects the experience or preferences of the development team more than objective consideration of possible alternatives [2]. The UML provides two diagrams for representation of scenarios during the software development process, known collectively as interaction diagrams. Interaction diagrams, which are isomorphic, consist of sequence and collaboration diagrams. The sequence diagram emphasises time s