Does the use of stereotypes improve the comprehension of UML sequence diagrams?

ABSTRACT

This paper reports on a controlled experiment that investigates the influence of stereotypes in UML sequence diagrams. The comprehension of UML sequence diagrams with and without stereotypes is analyzed from three different perspectives: semantic comprehension, retention and transfer. The experiment was carried out with 77 undergraduate students of Computer Science from the University of Bari in Italy. The results obtained show a slight tendency in favor of the use of stereotypes in facilitating the comprehension of UML sequence diagrams. Further replications are needed to obtain more conclusive results.

REFERENCES

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INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  D. Software
  D.2 SOFTWARE ENGINEERING
      D.2.2 Design Tools and Techniques
          Subjects: Object-oriented design methods

General Terms:
Design, Experimentation

Keywords:
comprehension, controlled experiment, stereotypes, uml sequence diagrams, understandability