A controlled experiment on the impact of the object constraint language in UML-based maintenance

L. C. Briand; Y. Labiche; H. D. Yan; M. Di Penta

doi:10.1109/ICSM.2004.1357823

A controlled experiment on the impact of the object constraint language in UML-based maintenance

L. C. Briand, Y. Labiche, H. D. Yan, M. Di Penta

Research output: Contribution to conference › Paper › peer-review

Abstract

The Object Constraint Language (OCL) was introduced as part of the Unified Modeling Language (UML). Its main purpose is to make UML models more precise by providing a constraint language. For example, operation contracts and statechart guard conditions can be precisely defined using OCL. There has been an ongoing debate on the usefulness of using OCL in UML-based development, questioning whether the additional effort and formality were worth the benefit. This paper presents the results of a controlled experiment that investigates the impact of using OCL on model comprehension and maintainability. Current results show that, once past an initial learning curve, significant benefits can be obtained by using OCL in combination with UML diagrams.

Original language	English
Pages	380-389
Number of pages	10
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1109/ICSM.2004.1357823
Publication status	Published - 2004
Externally published	Yes
Event	Proceedings - 20th IEEE International Conference on Software Maintenance, ICSM 2004 - Chicago, IL, United States Duration: 11 Sep 2004 → 14 Sep 2004

Conference

Conference	Proceedings - 20th IEEE International Conference on Software Maintenance, ICSM 2004
Country/Territory	United States
City	Chicago, IL
Period	11/09/04 → 14/09/04

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10.1109/ICSM.2004.1357823

Cite this

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title = "A controlled experiment on the impact of the object constraint language in UML-based maintenance",

abstract = "The Object Constraint Language (OCL) was introduced as part of the Unified Modeling Language (UML). Its main purpose is to make UML models more precise by providing a constraint language. For example, operation contracts and statechart guard conditions can be precisely defined using OCL. There has been an ongoing debate on the usefulness of using OCL in UML-based development, questioning whether the additional effort and formality were worth the benefit. This paper presents the results of a controlled experiment that investigates the impact of using OCL on model comprehension and maintainability. Current results show that, once past an initial learning curve, significant benefits can be obtained by using OCL in combination with UML diagrams.",

author = "Briand, {L. C.} and Y. Labiche and Yan, {H. D.} and {Di Penta}, M.",

year = "2004",

doi = "10.1109/ICSM.2004.1357823",

language = "English",

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AU - Labiche, Y.

AU - Yan, H. D.

AU - Di Penta, M.

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Y1 - 2004

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AB - The Object Constraint Language (OCL) was introduced as part of the Unified Modeling Language (UML). Its main purpose is to make UML models more precise by providing a constraint language. For example, operation contracts and statechart guard conditions can be precisely defined using OCL. There has been an ongoing debate on the usefulness of using OCL in UML-based development, questioning whether the additional effort and formality were worth the benefit. This paper presents the results of a controlled experiment that investigates the impact of using OCL on model comprehension and maintainability. Current results show that, once past an initial learning curve, significant benefits can be obtained by using OCL in combination with UML diagrams.

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T2 - Proceedings - 20th IEEE International Conference on Software Maintenance, ICSM 2004

Y2 - 11 September 2004 through 14 September 2004

ER -

A controlled experiment on the impact of the object constraint language in UML-based maintenance

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