A Focus+Context Approach to Alleviate Cognitive Challenges of Editing and Debugging UML Models

Abstract

Model-Driven Engineering has been proposed to increase the productivity of developing a software system. Despite its benefits, it has not been fully adopted in the software industry. Research has shown that modelling tools are amongst the top barriers for the adoption of MDE by industry. Recently, researchers have conducted empirical studies to identify the most severe cognitive difficulties of modellers when using UML model editors. Their analyses show that users’ prominent challenges are in remembering the contextual information when performing a particular modelling task; and locating, understanding, and fixing errors in the models. To alleviate these difficulties, we propose two Focus+Context user interfaces that provide enhanced cognitive support and automation in the user’s interaction with a model editor. Moreover, we conducted two empirical studies to assess the effectiveness of our interfaces on human users. Our results reveal that our interfaces help users 1) improve their ability to successfully fulfil their tasks, 2) avoid unnecessary switches among diagrams, 3) produce more error-free models, 4) remember contextual information, and 5) reduce time on tasks.