A survey on the practical use of UML for different software architecture viewpoints

Abstract

Abstract Context Software architecture viewpoints modularize the software architectures in terms of different viewpoints that each address a different concern. Unified Modeling Language (UML) is so popular among practitioners for modeling software architectures from different viewpoints. Objective In this paper, we aimed at understanding the practitioners’ UML usage for the modeling of software architectures from different viewpoints. Method To this end, 109 practitioners with diverse profiles have been surveyed to understand practitioners’ UML usage for six different viewpoints: functional, information, concurrency, development, deployment, and operational. Each viewpoint has been considered in terms of a set of software models that can be created in that viewpoint. Results The survey includes 35 questions for different viewpoint models, and the results lead to interesting findings. While the top popular viewpoints for the UML-based software architecture modeling are the functional (96%) and information (99%) viewpoints, the least popular one is the operational viewpoint that is considered by 26% of the practitioners. The top popular UML modeling tool is Enterprise Architect regardless of the viewpoints considered. Concerning the software models that can be created in each viewpoint, UML’s class diagram is practitioners’ top choice for the functional structure (71%), data structure (85%), concurrency structure (75%), software code structure (34%), and system installation (39%), and system support (16%) models; UML’s sequence diagram is the top choice for the data lifecycle models (47%); UML’s deployment diagram for the physical structure (71%), mapping between the functional and physical components (53%), and system migration (21%) models; UML’s activity diagram for the data flow (65%), software build and release processes (20–22%), and system administration (36%) models; UML’s component diagram for the mapping between the functional and concurrent components (35%), software module structure (47%), and system configuration (21%) models; and UML’s package diagram for the software module structure (47%) models.