Towards a New Generation of
Software Design Environments:
Supporting the Use of
Informal and Formal Notations
with OctoUML
Rodi Jolak, Boban Vesin, Marcus Isaksson and Michel R.V. Chaudron
HuFaMo 2016
Outline
• Introduction
• Informal vs formal notations
• Approach
• OctoUML
• Demo
• Evaluation
• Research Questions
• User Studies
• Results
• Presentation of results
• Conclusion
• Current Work and Future Work
CHALMERS & University of Gothenburg - OctoUML
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Introduction: Informal vs. formal Notations
• Software designers often combine informal with formal notations.
• Software designers often alternate between Whiteboard and
CASE-tools.
• Formal notations are restrictive, informal are not.
Tools supporting Informal
Notations
Tools supporting Formal
Notations
Whiteboards,
Paper and Pen,
PowerPoint,
Visio,
etc.
CASE-tools;
StarUML,
Rational Rose,
Enterprise Architect,
etc.
CHALMERS & University of Gothenburg - OctoUML
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Approach: OctoUML (1/2)
• OctoUML bridges the gap between:
Early Design
OctoUML
Formalization &
Documentation
Software Design Process
CHALMERS & University of Gothenburg - OctoUML
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Approach: OctoUML (2/2)
• OctoUML allows the mix of informal and formal notations.
• It supports different input methods (e.g. mouse, keyboard,
touch).
• It provides a selective
recognition mechanism.
• It provides multi-user
support on a single input device.
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Approach: Demo
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Research Questions
• RQ1. Does OctoUML provide a usable environment
considering issues like ease of use, efficiency and
user satisfaction?
• RQ2. Does support for mixing informal and formal
notation better support the software design
process?
CHALMERS & University of Gothenburg - OctoUML
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Evaluation: User Studies
Modelling
Task
SUS
Questionnaire
Semi-structured
Interviews
Data
Analysis
Introduction to
OctoUML
16 (Software Engineering
Students and Researchers)
•
•
•
10 PhD
4 M.Sc.
2 Post-Doctorate
CHALMERS & University of Gothenburg - OctoUML
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Results
• System Usability Scale (SUS) Questionnaire:
• OctoUML’s score is 78.75
• Interviews:
16
Number of Subjects
14
12
2
2
3
2
2
3
10
2
8
6
6
12
11
11
4
8
2
0
IF.N. are valuable and
supports F.N.
Informal Notation (IF.N.)
Formal Notation (F.N.)
IF.N. allow for a better
expression of ideas
Agree
Undecided
IF.N. can enhace
The use of OctoUML
communication and
replaces the need of using
understandabiliy of F.N.
the whiteboard
Disagree
9
Recap
• Case-tools lack support for design flow.
• Allowing the creation of both informal and formal
notations in one design environment can effectively
support the design process and its flow.
• Usability of OctoUML:
 Easy to use
 Efficient
 Subjects enjoyed their experience
CHALMERS & University of Gothenburg - OctoUML
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Current & Future Work
• In the mean while:
• OctoUML has become multi-modal.
• We have enabled remote collaboration.
• Sequence diagram is recently supported.
• Future Work:
• We want to integrate OctoUML with other software
engineering tools to support different development and
analysis tasks.
CHALMERS & University of Gothenburg - OctoUML
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Thank You For Your Attention!
Rodi Jolak
Michel R.V. Chaudron
Department of Computer Science and
Engineering
Chalmers & University of Gothenburg
SE-412 96 Gothenburg, Sweden
Department of Computer Science and
Engineering
Chalmers & University of Gothenburg
SE-412 96 Gothenburg, Sweden
E-mail: [email protected]
E-mail: [email protected]
The pre-release version of OctoUML and the source code are available at:
www.rodijolak.com