Evaluating the Visual Syntax of UML: An Analysis of the Cognitive Effectiveness of the UMLFamily of Diagrams

Daniel Moody; Jos van Hillegersberg

doi:10.1007/978-3-642-00434-6_3

Evaluating the Visual Syntax of UML: An Analysis of the Cognitive Effectiveness of the UMLFamily of Diagrams

Daniel Moody, Jos van Hillegersberg

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution › Academic › peer-review

87 Citations (Scopus)

2 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

UML is a visual language. However surprisingly, there has been very little attention in either research or practice to the visual notations used in UML. Both academic analyses and official revisions to the standard have focused almost exclusively on semantic issues, with little debate about the visual syntax. We believe this is a major oversight and that as a result, UML’s visual development is lagging behind its semantic development. The lack of attention to visual aspects is surprising given that the form of visual representations is known to have an equal if not greater effect on understanding and problem solving performance than their content. The UML visual notations were developed in a bottom-up manner, by reusing and synthesising existing notations, with choice of graphical conventions based on expert consensus. We argue that this is an inappropriate basis for making visual representation decisions and they should be based on theory and empirical evidence about cognitive effectiveness. This paper evaluates the visual syntax of UML using a set of evidence-based principles for designing cognitively effective visual notations. The analysis reveals some serious design flaws in the UML visual notations together with practical recommendations for fixing them.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Software Language Engineering
Subtitle of host publication	First International Conference, SLE 2008, Toulouse, France, September 29-30, 2008. Revised Selected Papers
Editors	Dragan Gašević, Ralf Lämmel, Eric van Wyk
Place of Publication	Berlin, Heidelberg
Publisher	Springer
Pages	16-34
ISBN (Electronic)	978-3-642-00434-6
ISBN (Print)	978-3-642-00433-9
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-00434-6_3
Publication status	Published - 2009
Event	1st International Conference on Software Language Engineering, SLE 2008 - Toulouse, France Duration: 29 Sept 2008 → 30 Sept 2008 Conference number: 1 http://www.sleconf.org/2008/index.html

Publication series

Name	Lecture Notes in Computer Science
Publisher	Springer
Volume	5452
ISSN (Print)	0302-9743
ISSN (Electronic)	1611-3349

Conference

Conference	1st International Conference on Software Language Engineering, SLE 2008
Abbreviated title	SLE
Country/Territory	France
City	Toulouse
Period	29/09/08 → 30/09/08
Internet address	http://www.sleconf.org/2008/index.html

Keywords

Unify modelling language
Class diagram
Visual variable
Graphic complexity
Redundant ode

Access to Document

10.1007/978-3-642-00434-6_3

Cite this

Moody, D., & van Hillegersberg, J. (2009). Evaluating the Visual Syntax of UML: An Analysis of the Cognitive Effectiveness of the UMLFamily of Diagrams. In D. Gašević, R. Lämmel, & E. van Wyk (Eds.), Software Language Engineering: First International Conference, SLE 2008, Toulouse, France, September 29-30, 2008. Revised Selected Papers (pp. 16-34). (Lecture Notes in Computer Science; Vol. 5452). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-00434-6_3

Moody, Daniel ; van Hillegersberg, Jos. / Evaluating the Visual Syntax of UML : An Analysis of the Cognitive Effectiveness of the UMLFamily of Diagrams. Software Language Engineering: First International Conference, SLE 2008, Toulouse, France, September 29-30, 2008. Revised Selected Papers. editor / Dragan Gašević ; Ralf Lämmel ; Eric van Wyk. Berlin, Heidelberg : Springer, 2009. pp. 16-34 (Lecture Notes in Computer Science).

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abstract = "UML is a visual language. However surprisingly, there has been very little attention in either research or practice to the visual notations used in UML. Both academic analyses and official revisions to the standard have focused almost exclusively on semantic issues, with little debate about the visual syntax. We believe this is a major oversight and that as a result, UML{\textquoteright}s visual development is lagging behind its semantic development. The lack of attention to visual aspects is surprising given that the form of visual representations is known to have an equal if not greater effect on understanding and problem solving performance than their content. The UML visual notations were developed in a bottom-up manner, by reusing and synthesising existing notations, with choice of graphical conventions based on expert consensus. We argue that this is an inappropriate basis for making visual representation decisions and they should be based on theory and empirical evidence about cognitive effectiveness. This paper evaluates the visual syntax of UML using a set of evidence-based principles for designing cognitively effective visual notations. The analysis reveals some serious design flaws in the UML visual notations together with practical recommendations for fixing them.",

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Moody, D & van Hillegersberg, J 2009, Evaluating the Visual Syntax of UML: An Analysis of the Cognitive Effectiveness of the UMLFamily of Diagrams. in D Gašević, R Lämmel & E van Wyk (eds), Software Language Engineering: First International Conference, SLE 2008, Toulouse, France, September 29-30, 2008. Revised Selected Papers. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol. 5452, Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg, pp. 16-34, 1st International Conference on Software Language Engineering, SLE 2008, Toulouse, France, 29/09/08. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-00434-6_3

Evaluating the Visual Syntax of UML: An Analysis of the Cognitive Effectiveness of the UMLFamily of Diagrams. / Moody, Daniel; van Hillegersberg, Jos.
Software Language Engineering: First International Conference, SLE 2008, Toulouse, France, September 29-30, 2008. Revised Selected Papers. ed. / Dragan Gašević; Ralf Lämmel; Eric van Wyk. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer, 2009. p. 16-34 (Lecture Notes in Computer Science; Vol. 5452).

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution › Academic › peer-review

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Moody D, van Hillegersberg J. Evaluating the Visual Syntax of UML: An Analysis of the Cognitive Effectiveness of the UMLFamily of Diagrams. In Gašević D, Lämmel R, van Wyk E, editors, Software Language Engineering: First International Conference, SLE 2008, Toulouse, France, September 29-30, 2008. Revised Selected Papers. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer. 2009. p. 16-34. (Lecture Notes in Computer Science). doi: 10.1007/978-3-642-00434-6_3

Evaluating the Visual Syntax of UML: An Analysis of the Cognitive Effectiveness of the UMLFamily of Diagrams

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