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by C. Bennett,D. Myers,M.-A. Storey, ,D. M. German, D. Ouellet, M. Salois and P. Charland

Abstract

Sequence diagrams can be valuable aids to software understanding. However, they can be extremely large and hard to understand even using modern tool support. Consequently, providing the right set of tool features is important if the tools are to help rather than hinder the user. This paper surveys research and commercial sequence diagram tools to determine the features they provide to support program understanding. Although there has been significant effort in developing these tools, many of them have not been evaluated using human subjects. To begin to address this gap, a preliminary study was performed with a specially designed sequence diagram tool that implements the features found during the survey. Based on an analysis of the study results, we discuss the features that were found useful and relate these to the tasks performed. It concludes by proposing how future tools can be improved to better support the exploration of large sequence diagrams.

JOURNAL OF SOFTWARE MAINTENANCE AND EVOLUTION: RESEARCH AND PRACTICE
J. Softw. Maint. Evol.: Res. Pract. 2008; 20:291–315


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Because he can.

And might pigs fly?He would probably say yes. "he has made more money in two days than all the artists in the National Gallery earned in a lifetime."

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...both textbook publishers and drug makers benefit from the problem of “moral hazards” — that is, the doctor who prescribes medication and the professor who requires a textbook don’t have to bear the cost and thus usually don’t think twice about it.

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It is more fun!

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but it also interesting to share it.


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"In the past, discovery for its own sake provided academic motivation, but today’s universities function more like corporate research laboratories"

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