Unified Modeling Language Class Research Articles

Identifying and Improving Problems and Risks of Management Strategies Based on GQM+Strategies Metamodel and Design Principles

Due to the criticality of software and IT in today’s business environment, organisations often align business goals and IT strategies. One alignment method is GQM+Strategies[Formula: see text] (GQM+Strategies[Formula: see text] is a registered trademark (No. 302008021763 at the German Patent and Trade Mark Office and international registration number IR992843). Although GQM+Strategies employs a vertical refinement tree grid based on rationales to align business goals and IT strategies in each department and throughout the organisation, it allows multiple perspectives. This can lead to strategic problems and risks because the GQM+Strategies grid may be unclear. To address this deficiency, this study defines modelling rules with a metamodel specified using a Unified Modelling Language (UML) class diagram and employs design principles described by Object Constraint Language (OCL) to automatically configure GQM+Strategies grids. These design principles are used in an experiment as the evaluation criteria to assess potential strategic problems and risks. The results confirm that our method has the potential to support the construction of GQM+Strategies grids with a consistent perspective, aiding in the alignment of business goals and IT strategies throughout an organisation.

Proposal of a similarity measure for unified modeling language class diagram images using convolutional neural network

The unified modeling language (UML) represents an essential tool for modeling and visualizing software systems. UML diagrams provide a graphical representation of a system's components. Comparing and processing these diagrams, for instance, can be complicated, especially as software projects grow in size and complexity. In such contexts, deep learning techniques have emerged as a promising solution for solving complex problems. One of these crucial problems is the measurement of similarity between images, making it possible to compare and calculate the differences between two given diagrams. The present work intends to build a method for calculating the degree of similarity between two UML class diagrams. With a goal to provide teachers a helpful tool for assessing students' UML class diagrams.

Supervised Classification of UML Class Diagrams Based on F-KNB

Often most software development doesn’t start from scratch but applies previously developed artifacts. These reusable artifacts are involved in various phases of the software life cycle, ranging from requirements to maintenance. Software design as the high level of software development process has an important impact on the following stages, so its reuse is gaining more and more attention. Unified modeling language (UML) class diagram as a modeling tool has become a de facto standard of software design, and thus its reuse also becomes a concern accordingly. So far, the related research on the reuse of UML class diagrams has focused on matching and retrieval. As a large number of class diagrams enter the repository for reuse, classification has become an essential task. The classification is divided into unsupervised classification (also known as clustering) and supervised classification. In our previous work, we discussed the clustering of UML class diagrams. In this paper, we focus on only the supervised classification of UML class diagrams and propose a supervised classification method. A novel ensemble classifier F-KNB combining both dependent and independent construction ideas is built. The similarity of class diagrams is described, in which the semantic, structural and hybrid matching is defined, respectively. The extracted feature elements are used in base classifiers F-KNN and F-NBs that are constructed based on improved K-nearest neighbors (KNNs) and Naive Bayes (NB), respectively. A series of experimental results show that the proposed ensemble classifier F-KNB shows a good classification quality and efficiency under the condition of variable size and distribution of training samples.

Model-driven architecture: generating models from Symfony framework

The web application development industry is constantly growing due to the extensive use of web applications in different devices, most of them run on Android, iOS, and Windows Phone operating systems. However, the development of applications designed for platforms requires more concerns such as code efficiency, interaction with devices, and speed of market penetration. The model-driven approach (MDA) combined with unified modeling language (UML) could provide abstraction and automation for software developers. This paper presents an MDA approach for the development of web applications based on the Symfony framework, UML modeling, model transformation, and then automatic code generation in order to facilitate and accelerate the development of web applications. The first step of this work is to establish the metamodel of Symfony framework and the metamodel of UML class diagram. In the second step, the various transformation rules between the source and target metamodels are first defined. Atlas transformation language (ATL) implements these rules. The result of this transformation is a platform-specific model (PSM) represented by Ecore language. The generated PSM model represents the input model of model-to-code (M2C) transformation for generating the code of web applications. To validate this work, we have implemented a case study.

Policy components – a conceptual model for modularizing and tailoring of information security policies

PurposeThis paper aims to propose a conceptual model of policy components for software that supports modularizing and tailoring of information security policies (ISPs).Design/methodology/approachThis study used a design science research approach, drawing on design knowledge from the field of situational method engineering. The conceptual model was developed as a unified modeling language class diagram using existing ISPs from public agencies in Sweden.FindingsThis study’s demonstration as proof of concept indicates that the conceptual model can be used to create free-standing modules that provide guidance about information security in relation to a specific work task and that these modules can be used across multiple tailored ISPs. Thus, the model can be considered as a step toward developing software to tailor ISPs.Research limitations/implicationsThe proposed conceptual model bears several short- and long-term implications for research. In the short term, the model can act as a foundation for developing software to design tailored ISPs. In the long term, having software that enables tailorable ISPs will allow researchers to do new types of studies, such as evaluating the software's effectiveness in the ISP development process.Practical implicationsPractitioners can use the model to develop software that assist information security managers in designing tailored ISPs. Such a tool can offer the opportunity for information security managers to design more purposeful ISPs.Originality/valueThe proposed model offers a detailed and well-elaborated starting point for developing software that supports modularizing and tailoring of ISPs.

Transforming the business process diagram into a class diagram by model-driven architecture

<span lang="EN-US">The strength of the model-driven architecture (MDA) lies in its use of models and diagrams in the process of visualizing and developing information systems of companies, that is why we chose the business process model and notations (BPMN) due to the simplicity of the symbols of its diagrams and the clarity of its notations so that all simple users of information systems within the organization can understand their needs and goals quickly and smoothly. In our paper, we suggested that we connect all categories of the staff in the companies, whatever their specialty, and the IT developers, by making a transformation between the BPMN diagrams as independent computing model to the unified modeling language (UML) class diagram as platform independent model. We chose the latter as a destination due to its development and the possibility of transforming it into a powerful and integrated program, and also to complete other transformations later, we chose query views transformations (QVT) due to its consistency with the same family of programs and previous languages.</span>

Design and evaluation of a collaborative UML modeling environment in virtual reality.

Modeling is a key activity in conceptual design and system design. Through collaborative modeling, end-users, stakeholders, experts, and entrepreneurs are able to create a shared understanding of a system representation. While the Unified Modeling Language (UML) is one of the major conceptual modeling languages in object-oriented software engineering, more and more concerns arise from the modeling quality of UML and its tool-support. Among them, the limitation of the two-dimensional presentation of its notations and lack of natural collaborative modeling tools are reported to be significant. In this paper, we explore the potential of using virtual reality (VR) technology for collaborative UML software design by comparing it with classical collaborative software design using conventional devices (desktop PC/laptop). For this purpose, we have developed a VR modeling environment that offers a natural collaborative modeling experience for UML Class Diagrams. Based on a user study with 24 participants, we have compared collaborative VR modeling with conventional modeling with regard to efficiency, effectiveness, and user satisfaction. Results show that the use of VR has some disadvantages concerning efficiency and effectiveness, but the user's fun, the feeling of being in the same room with a remote collaborator, and the naturalness of collaboration were increased.

Towards Verifying UML Class Diagram and Formalizing Generalization/Specialization Relationship with Mathematical Set Theory

The Unified Modeling Language (UML) is considered the de facto standard for object-oriented software model development. This makes it appropriate to be used in academia courses at both the graduate and undergraduate levels of education. Some challenges to using the UML is academia are its large number of model concepts and the imprecise semantic of some of these concepts. These challenges are daunting for students who are being introduced to the UML. One approach that can be taken in teaching UML towards addressing these concerns is to limit the number of UML concepts taught and recognize that students may not be able to develop correct UML system models. This approach leads to research work that develop a limited set of UML model concepts that are fewer in number and have more precise semantics. In this paper, we present a new approach to resolve an aspect of this problem by simplifying the generalization/specialization semantics of the class diagram through the application of mathematical formality to usage of these class diagram concepts. Along with that, we discuss the progress of research in the area of verification of UML class models. This research work derives a core set of concepts suitable for graduate and undergraduate comprehension of UML modeling and defines more precise semantics for those modeling concepts. The applicable mathematical principles applied in this work are from the domains of set theory and predicate logic. This approach is particularly relevant for the pedagogy of software engineering and the development of software systems that require a high level of reliability.

An Advanced Open Land Use Database as a Resource to Address Destination Earth Challenges

Land-use and land-cover (LULC) themes are important for many domains, especially when they process environmental and socio-economic phenomena. The evolution of a land-use database called Open Land Use (OLU) started in 2013 and was continued by adapting many user requirements. The goal of this study was to design a new version of the OLU database that would better fit the gathered user requirements collected by projects using LULC data. A formal definition of the developed data model through Unified Modeling Language (UML) class diagrams, a feature catalogue based on ISO 19110 and SQL scripts for setting up the OLU database, are the key achievements of the presented paper. The presented research provides a multi-scale open database of LULC information supporting the DestinE initiative to develop a very-high-precision digital model of the earth. The novel spatio-temporal thematic approach also lies in modular views of the OLU database.

Prioritization of model smell refactoring using a covariance matrix-based adaptive evolution algorithm

The refactoring process enhances the software design by modifying the structure of design parts impaired with model smells without altering the overall software behavior. However, handling these smells without proper prioritization will not produce the anticipated effects. In this paper, we solve the prioritization of the model smell refactoring using a multi-objective optimization (MOO) algorithm called the multi-objective (MO) covariance matrix adaptation evolution strategy (MO CMA-ES). Our formulation relies on the refactoring of unified modeling language (UML) class diagrams to mitigate the negative effect of design smells. We treat the prioritization problem as a real-valued MOO where we propose novel data encoding procedures. We use two conflicting objectives, quality, and maintainability , to balance the refactoring. We first build a new solution representation that guarantees smell fixing and eliminates the rejection limitation. Furthermore, we suggest a custom mapping scheme to properly encode real-valued quantities using unique representations. For performance evaluation purposes, we developed a large custom dataset with more than 30,000 class records, using seven popular open-source software projects. A novel relative coverage metric is proposed to mitigate the limitations associated with the standard coverage. For benchmarking purposes, we also consider an improved version of the nondominated sorting genetic algorithm (NSGA-II(. The reported performance scores confirm the superiority of the MO CMA-ES algorithm over NSGA-II. The former successfully identified the refactoring sequences that lead to the best improvements in software quality and maintainability while it is able to fix all identified design smells. These improvements are quantified in terms of hypervolume, coverage, spacing metrics, and execution time. The MO CMA-ES attained the highest average maximum quality score of 1149 while keeping the average maintainability at the lowest score of 13.8. In all experiment settings, the proposed solution leads to longer refactoring sequences at no additional computational cost.

Development of a Conceptual Data Model for 3D Geospatial Road Management Based on LandInfra Standard: A Case Study of Korea

In practice, road management data are typically managed in two-dimensional (2D) geospatial forms. However, 2D geographic information system (GIS)-based road infrastructure management data have limitations in their representation of complex roads, such as interchanges, bridges, and tunnels. As such, complex and large road network management data cannot be adequately managed in a 2D GIS-based form. This study discusses the use of the LandInfra standard for road infrastructure management in Korea, considering its focus on land and civil engineering infrastructure facilities. To facilitate the transition from 2D to 3D GIS, we analyzed existing road management models of road pavement and road register information and created Unified Modeling Language (UML) class diagrams depicting these models. Then, existing road management classes and LandInfra classes were mapped. Based on the results, we propose a road management model based on the Facility, Alignment, and Road parts of LandInfra. For its implementation, several classes of the proposed data model were encoded into InfraGML using real-world data input. Taken together, this study shows how the LandInfra standard can be extended and applied to the field of road infrastructure management in Korea, supporting the transition from a 2D to a 3D GIS-based model.

Multiobjective Genetic Algorithm for Class Testing using OCL Class Contract Specifications: A Framework

It has been a software trend to build large-scale complex systems with high reliability. Due to the size of the software and the dynamic requirements of the stakeholders, it becomes hard to test those software systems manually. This may lead the software to fatal failures and cause irrecoverable catastrophic damage. To be safe, the software system must be investigated thoroughly before it is too late. Test sequence generation for Unified Modeling Language (UML) class models from their semiformal Object Constraint Language specifications can be helpful in identifying the defects in the early phase of the software life cycle. The existing approaches suffer from inherent problems of exhaustive exploration of finite state machines (infeasible paths, exponential number of test sequences, and uncertainty of completion of testing). Evolutionary algorithms can greatly help by optimizing the test sequences to get optimal coverage, minimal cost, and higher quality. The proposed approach helps us to improve the testing of Unified Modeling Language (UML) model-based software, by testing the conformance to semiformal class operation contract specifications (specified in the form of Object Management Group (OMG) standard and Object Constraint Language (OCL) semiformal language). The presented research achieved two main goals: (1) automation of testing process and conformance to standards of the current technique of test sequence generation, bridging the gap between the research and industry; (2) improvement in the state of the art approach through the application of multiobjective genetic algorithms (MOGAs). A case study along with the results achieved through the proposed technique is presented as well, clearly reflecting the significance of the proposed research.

A Novel Method for Identifying Microservices by Considering Quality Expectations and Deployment Constraints

Nowadays, microservice architecture has become a dominant software development and deployment paradigm. Decomposing a system into loosely coupled, highly cohesive, and fine-grained microservices while meeting various technical constraints and implementing business capabilities is particularly important for microservice system (MS) designers. When an MS has a large number of functionalities and complex interconnections, it is a big challenge to identify microservices solely based on the experience of MS designers. We propose a structured and automated microservice identification method to decompose a system into appropriate microservices for this challenge. We model a system as unified modeling language (UML) class and sequence diagrams. In the identification phase, we take into account not only the traditional coupling-related criteria but also the quality expectation and deployment constraints, both of which have not yet been fully concerned in previous studies. Based on the criteria, a microservice identification algorithm using the clustering technique is designed. A case study of elderly care services illustrates the identification process. Experiments are conducted to evaluate and compare the proposed method against state-of-the-art methods. Results indicate that the proposed method significantly outperforms those compared from the literature.

Data Integration and Interoperability: Towards a Model-Driven and Pattern-Oriented Approach

Data integration is one of the core responsibilities of EDM (enterprise data management) and interoperability. It is essential for almost every digitalization project, e.g., during the migration from a legacy ERP (enterprise resource planning) software to a new system. One challenge is the incompatibility of data models, i.e., different software systems use specific or proprietary terminology, data structures, data formats, and semantics. Data need to be interchanged between software systems, and often complex data conversions or transformations are necessary. This paper presents an approach that allows software engineers or data experts to use models and patterns in order to specify data integration: it is based on data models such as ER (entity-relationship) diagrams or UML (unified modeling language) class models that are well-accepted and widely used in practice. Predefined data integration patterns are combined (applied) on the model level leading to formal, precise, and concise definitions of data transformations and conversions. Data integration definitions can then be executed (via code generation) so that a manual implementation is not necessary. The advantages are that existing data models can be reused, standardized data integration patterns lead to fast results, and data integration specifications are executable and can be easily maintained and extended. An example transformation of elements of a relational data model to object-oriented data structures shows the approach in practice. Its focus is on data mappings and relationships.

Alignment of Software System Level with Business Process Level: Resolving Syntactic and Semantic Conflicts

Information systems help organizations manage their entities with innovative technologies. These entities are often very different in nature. In this paper, we consider a business process level based on a set of Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN) models and a software system level based on a Unified Modeling Language (UML) class diagram. The differences between these entities make them difficult to align. In addition, an organization’s BPMN models may be designed by different teams, which can cause syntactic and semantic heterogeneities. We present the first step of our proposed approach for aligning a software system level with a business process level without conflict (redundancy and lost information). Syntactic and semantic rules based on ontologies and other resources for comparing BPMN models are described, as well as a process for transforming BPMN models into UML model.

Solidity Code Generation From UML State Machines in Model-Driven Smart Contract Development

For the development of blockchain smart contracts, a structured approach based on the principles of the Model Driven Architecture can be beneficial and facilitate the implementation of smart contracts. This paper presents such an approach, which, in combination with Unified Modeling Language (UML) Class and State machine diagrams, allows the smart contract structure and behavior logic to be modeled in several abstraction layers. This paper delves into details on how the model-to-model transformations from the specified Blockchain Platform Independent Model (PIM) with specified state-like behavior can be used to produce a Solidity Platform Specific Model (PSM). Subsequently, we elaborate on how the Solidity PSM is used for Solidity smart contract code generation by employing model-to-text transformations. The paper also demonstrates the process of our proposed transformations and code generation using smart contract code examples from Solidity documentation. Based on the examples, a Blockchain PIM is specified and transformed to Solidity PSM, which is then used for Solidity smart contract code generation. The generated smart contract code is then compiled, deployed on the Ethereum blockchain JavaScript virtual machine, and compared to the original smart contract code in terms of Solidity code metrics, similarity scores, and execution costs. The evaluation results indicate that our approach could be successfully used to model and later generate smart contract code.

Towards Cross-Standard Compliance Readiness: Security Requirements Model for Smart Grid

The critical infrastructure is constantly under cyber and physical threats. Applying security controls without guidance or traceability can create a false sense of security. Security standards facilitate security knowledge and control best practices in a more systematic way. However, the number of standards is continually increasing. Product providers that operate in multiple geographical regions often face the obligation to comply with multiple standards simultaneously. This introduces the problem of the convenient interpretation of different standards. Thus, a comprehensive analysis of the requirements from different security standards and guidelines applicable to the smart grid has been performed to detect similarities that can be shaped into entities of the conceptual model for requirement representation. The purpose of the model—presented in a form of a Unified Modeling Language (UML) class diagram—is to give product providers a canonical way to map requirements from arbitrary standards, guidelines, and regulations and accelerate the cross-standard compliance readiness by defining priority for requirement implementation. In addition, the research showed that multiple vectors should impact the priority of the implementation of the security controls defined through the requirements: domain affiliation, the essence of the requirement, associated threats, risks, and social dependencies between actors involved in the implementation. To examine the model correctness, NISTIR 7628—de facto smart grid standard—was used to provide insights into how the model would be used for requirements implementation tracking. The structure of individual requirements was analyzed to detect the building blocks and extract relevant parts that can be mapped to the model components. Further, all requirements were classified into one of the defined domains to provide the basis for referencing similar requirements from different standards. Finally, one arbitrary requirement was used to demonstrate model usage, and depict all available information that can be provided to the users in a custom-made scenario where the need arises to have simultaneous alignment with three standards—NISTIR 7628, NIST 800-53, and IEC 62443-3-3.

Characterizing Student Proficiency in Software Modeling in Terms of Functions, Structures, and Behaviors

Software modeling is an integral practice for software engineers, especially as the complexity of software solutions increases. Unified Modeling Language (UML) is the industry standard for software modeling. however, it is often used incorrectly and misunderstood by novice software designers. This study is centered around understanding patterns of student proficiency of abstraction and systems thinking within a software modeling context. The participants of this study (n = 97) belonged to a systems analysis and design course that is primarily taken by second-year university students. The exam solutions to a case study from the course were evaluated for modeling proficiency. As evidence of proficiency in abstract thinking and systems thinking, we evaluated UML activity diagrams, class diagrams, and sequence diagrams and the alignment between these representations in terms of functions, structures, and behaviors. The results suggest students being proficient in modeling the functional aspects of an information system while facing some difficulty in capturing the structural and behavioral aspects of an information system. Clustering analysis revealed two groups within the sample, with one group displaying a significantly higher abstraction and systems thinking ability. Statistically significant correlations were also found between student proficiency of abstraction and their modeling proficiency in terms of functions, structures, and behaviors.

Automatic Generation of Object-Oriented Code from the ReLEL Requirements Model

The final executable code should no longer be considered as a central element in a software development process but rather a naturally important component that results from a model transformation. The objective of the MDA (Model Driven Architecture) approach is to lift the lock of software development automation from the CIM (Computation Independent Model) requirements until the code of an application is obtained. Therefore, we have proposed in the framework of MDA an approach that consists of automatically generating object-oriented code from the CIM model represented by ReLEL (Restructuring extended Lexical Elaborate Language). ReLEL is a natural language-oriented model that represents both the client requirements and the conceptual level of a system. However, the MDA framework does not recommend the type of UML model that corresponds to each business activity. Consequently, automating the software development process from the CIM model specified by ReLEL becomes a complex task. Our strategy in this paper includes the instantiation of the ReLEL model in the Praxeme methodology, which models each of the company's concerns, grouped in a homogeneous whole, using the UML (Unified Modeling Language) and which considers the articulation of these aspects by adopting the MDA principle. To do this, we propose to automate the articulation that covers the intentional, semantic, logical, and software aspects of Praxeme. To validate our approach, we measure the coupling and cohesion of the UML class diagram obtained from the Java code generated from this article using the slicing technique. The results show that the coupling is weak, and the cohesion is strong. It can be deduced that the method proposed in this paper can produce a more reliable and efficient system.

A Tool to Automate Student UML diagram Evaluation

Unified modelling language (UML) is the accepted standard and modelling language for modeling in software development process. UML is widely used by most course tutors in teaching modules of software engineering and system analysis and design. Students taking such courses do submit assignments with UML diagrams such as use case, class, sequence, activity and so on. Different versions of such diagrams produced by the students for a given problem have to be assessed by the course tutor which is a challenging and time-consuming task. This paper presents a java-based tool which is developed based on a simple yet effective algorithm developed by the authors that will read student and tutors solution diagrams as inputs and evaluate and grade the diagrams automatically. The output of the tool is the score of the student diagram in respect of lecturer’s final solution. The output is presented in two feedback files, one containing students’ score for the lecturers and the other to be send to the student to note the areas that were incorrect. The tool has been tested and evaluated using a simple and assumed UML class diagram. The result shows that the tool functions effectively and can produce detail feedbacks for both students and tutors. The outcome of this paper contributes towards automating UML diagram evaluations.