1,721,010 research outputs found
Building measure-based prediction models for UML class diagram maintainability
No full textThe usefulness of measures for the analysis and design of object oriented (OO) software is increasingly being recognized in the field of software engineering research. In particular, recognition of the need for early indicators of external quality attributes is increasing. We investigate through experimentation whether a collection of UML class diagram measures could be good predictors of two main subcharacteristics of the maintainability of class diagrams: understandability and modifiability. Results obtained from a controlled experiment and a replica support the idea that useful prediction models for class diagrams understandability and modifiability can be built on the basis of early measures, in particular, measures that capture structural complexity through associations and generalizations. Moreover, these measures seem to be correlated with the subjective perception of the subjects about the complexity of the diagrams. This fact shows, to some extent, that the objective measures capture the same aspects as the subjective ones. However, despite our encouraging findings, further empirical studies, especially using data taken from real projects performed in industrial settings, are needed. Such further study will yield a comprehensive body of knowledge and experience about building prediction models for understandability and modifiability
Assessing the Understandability of UML Statechart Diagrams with Composite States in an Industrial Environment
No full textWe have carried out a family of empirical studies to investigate whether the use of composite states improves the understandability of UML statechart diagrams. Our hypothesis derived from conventional wisdom, which says that hierarchical modeling mechanisms are helpful to master a system’s complexity. We carried out three studies that have gradually evolved in the size of the UML statecharts models, the type of subjects (students vs. professionals), the familiarity of the subjects with the domains of the diagrams, and other factors. In this work we briefly review the first and second studies and present the third one, performed with practitioners as experimental subjects. Surprisingly, our results do not seem to show that the use of composite states improves the understandability of UML statechart diagrams
Proceedings Editorial 16th International Conference on Evaluation & Assessment in Software Engineering, EASE 2012
No full textGoing Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
UML diagram synthesis techniques: A systematic mapping study
No full textContext: UML software development relies on different types of UML diagrams, which must be consistent with one another. UML Synthesis techniques suggest to generate diagram(s) from other diagram(s), thereby implicitly suggesting that input and output diagrams of the synthesis process be consistent with one another. Objective: Our aim is to provide a comprehensive summary of UML synthesis techniques as they have been described in the literature to date to then collect UML consistency rules, which can then be used to verify UML models. Method: We performed a Systematic Mapping Study by following well-known guidelines. We selected 14 studies by means of a search with seven search engines executed until January, 2018. Results: Researchers have not frequently published papers concerning UML synthesis techniques since 2004. We present a set of 47 UML consistency rules collected from the different synthesis techniques analyzed. Conclusion: Although UML diagrams synthesis doesn't seem to be an active line of research, it is relevant since synthesis techniques rely on enforcing diagram consistency, which is an active line of research. We collected consistency rules which can be used to check UML models, specifically to verify if the diagrams of a model are consistent with one another
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Assessing the understandability of UML statechart diagrams with composite states-A family of empirical studies
No full textThe main goal of this work is to present a family of empirical studies that we have carried out to investigate whether the use of composite states may improve the understandability of UML statechart diagrams derived from class diagrams. Our hypotheses derive from conventional wisdom, which says that hierarchical modeling mechanisms are helpful in mastering the complexity of a software system. In our research, we have carried out three empirical studies, consisting of five experiments in total. The studies differed somewhat as regards the size of the UML statechart models, though their size and the complexity of the models were chosen so that they could be analyzed by the subjects within a limited time period. The studies also differed with respect to the type of subjects (students vs. professionals), the familiarity of the subjects with the domains of the diagrams, and other factors. To integrate the results obtained from each of the five experiments, we performed a meta-analysis study which allowed us to take into account the differences between studies and to obtain the overall effect that the use of composite states has on the understandability of UML statechart diagrams throughout all the experiments. The results obtained are not completely conclusive. They cast doubts on the usefulness of composite states for a better understanding and memorizing of UML statechart diagrams. Composite states seem only to be helpful for acquiring knowledge from the diagrams. At any rate, it should be noted that these results are affected by the previous experience of the subjects on modeling, as well as by the size and complexity of the UML statechart diagrams we used, so care should be taken when generalizing our results
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Full text linkWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
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