Software reconnaissance is a very useful technique for locating features in software systems that are unfamiliar to a developer. The technique was, however, limited by the need to execute multiple test cases and record the components used in each one. Tools that recorded the execution traces of a program made it more practical to use the software reconnaissance technique. Diver was developed as an execution trace visualization tool using sequence diagrams to display the dynamic behaviour of a program. The addition of software reconnaissance to Diver and its trace-focused user interface feature improved the filtering of the Eclipse environment based on the contents of execution traces and led to a very powerful program comprehension tool. Myers' work on Diver was grounded in cognitive support theory research into how to build tools. He conducted a user study to validate the work done on Diver, but the study's findings were limited due to a number of issues. In this thesis, we expand on the study run by Myers, improve on its design, and investigate if software reconnaissance improves Diver's effectiveness and efficiency for program comprehension tasks. We also analyze the influence of software reconnaissance on the interactions of Diver's users, which allows us to identify successful usage patterns for completing program comprehension and feature location tasks. We research the connection between cognitive support theory and the design of Diver and use the study to attempt to validate the cognitive support offered by Diver. Finally, we present the results of a survey of the study participants to determine the usefulness, ease of use, and ease of learning of the tool. / Graduate / 0984

Yes / This paper introduces a novel method referred to as Enhanced Sequence Diagram (ESD) to support rigorous functional modelling of complex multidisciplinary systems. The ESD concept integrates an exchanges based functional requirements reasoning based on a coherent graphical schema, integrated with the system operational analysis based on a sequence diagram. The effectiveness of the method to support generic function modelling of complex multidisciplinary systems at the early conceptual design stages is discussed in conjunction with an electric vehicle powertrain example, followed by an assessment of potential impact for broader application of the method in the industry.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Computing and Information Sciences / David A. Gustafson / The Unified Modeling Language (UML) has been designed to be a full standard notation for Object-Oriented Modeling. UML 2.0 consists of thirteen types of diagrams: class, composite structure, component, deployment, object, package, activity, use case, state, sequence, communication, interaction overview, and timing. Each one is dedicated to a different design aspect. This variety of diagrams, which overlap with respect to the information depicted in each, can leave the overall system design specification in an inconsistent state. This dissertation presents Super State Analysis (SSA) for analyzing UML multiple state and sequence diagrams to detect the inconsistencies. SSA model uses a transition set that captures relationship information that is not specifiable in UML diagrams. The SSA model uses the transition set to link transitions of multiple state diagrams together. The analysis generates three different sets automatically. These generated sets are compared to the provided sets to detect the inconsistencies. Because Super State Analysis considers multiple UML state diagrams, it discovers inconsistencies that cannot be discovered when considering only a single UML state diagram. Super State Analysis identifies five types of inconsistencies: valid super states, invalid super states, valid single step transitions, invalid single step transitions, and invalid sequences.

In this thesis, we describe how to use UML sequence diagrams with MARTE timing constraints to specify entirely the behavior of component-based systems while abstracting as much as possible the functional roles of components composing it. We have shown how to conduct compositional analysis of such specifications. For this, we have defined operational semantics to sequence diagrams by translating them into TIOSTS which are symbolic automata with timing constraints. We have used symbolic execution techniques to compute possible executions of the system in the form of a symbolic tree. We have defined projection mechanisms to extract the execution tree associated with any distinguished component. The resulting projected tree characterizes the possible behaviors of the component with respect to the context of the whole system specification. As such, it represents a constraint to be satisfied by the component and it can be used as a correctness reference to validate the system in a compositional manner. For that purpose, we have grounded our validation framework on testing techniques. We have presented compositional results relating the correctness of a system to the correctness of components. Based on these results, we have defined an incremental approach for testing from sequence diagrams.

In this thesis, we describe how to use UML sequence diagrams with MARTE timing constraints to specify entirely the behavior of component-based systems while abstracting as much as possible the functional roles of components composing it. We have shown how to conduct compositional analysis of such specifications. For this, we have defined operational semantics to sequence diagrams by translating them into TIOSTS which are symbolic automata with timing constraints. We have used symbolic execution techniques to compute possible executions of the system in the form of a symbolic tree. We have defined projection mechanisms to extract the execution tree associated with any distinguished component. The resulting projected tree characterizes the possible behaviors of the component with respect to the context of the whole system specification. As such, it represents a constraint to be satisfied by the component and it can be used as a correctness reference to validate the system in a compositional manner. For that purpose, we have grounded our validation framework on testing techniques. We have presented compositional results relating the correctness of a system to the correctness of components. Based on these results, we have defined an incremental approach for testing from sequence diagrams.

Dans cette thèse, nous décrivons comment on peut utiliser un diagramme de séquence UML avec des contraintes de temps MARTE pour spécifier complètement le comportement des systèmes à base de composants tout en faisant abstraction des rôles fonctionnels des composants. Nous avons proposé une approche qui permet d'analyser ces spécifications d'une manière modulaire. Pour cela, nous avons attribué une sémantique opérationnelle aux diagrammes de séquence en les traduisant vers les TIOSTS qui sont des automates symbolique et temporisé. Nous avons utilisé des techniques d'exécution symbolique pour calculer les exécutions du système sous la forme d'un arbre symbolique. Nous avons défini des mécanismes de projection pour extraire l'arbre d'exécution associé à un composant sous-jacent. L'arbre résultant de la projection caractérise les comportements attendus du composant et peut être utilisé comme une référence pour valider le système bout par bout. Pour ce faire, nous nous sommes intéressés à des techniques de test. Nous avons présenté un résultat qui ramène la conformité du système à la conformité des composants qui le composent. Sur la base de ces résultats, nous avons proposé une méthodologie incrémentale de test basé sur des spécifications décrites sous la forme de diagrammes de séquence. / In this thesis, we describe how to use UML sequence diagrams with MARTE timing constraints to specify entirely the behavior of component-based systems while abstracting as much as possible the functional roles of components composing it. We have shown how to conduct compositional analysis of such specifications. For this, we have defined operational semantics to sequence diagrams by translating them into TIOSTS which are symbolic automata with timing constraints. We have used symbolic execution techniques to compute possible executions of the system in the form of a symbolic tree. We have defined projection mechanisms to extract the execution tree associated with any distinguished component. The resulting projected tree characterizes the possible behaviors of the component with respect to the context of the whole system specification. As such, it represents a constraint to be satisfied by the component and it can be used as a correctness reference to validate the system in a compositional manner. For that purpose, we have grounded our validation framework on testing techniques. We have presented compositional results relating the correctness of a system to the correctness of components. Based on these results, we have defined an incremental approach for testing from sequence diagrams.

Capturing a requirement is a great challenge in the initial stages of the software development, be it a system requirement or a customer requirement to the software engineers. Understanding the requirement and predicting or differentiating what may happen and what must happen is difficult especially in the complex real time systems. Live sequence charts are extensions of the message sequence charts which can specify the live ness of the requirements. And the play engine tool is used to specify, validate, and analyze the scenarios of the requirements. This thesis is to evaluate live sequence charts using the play engine tool and to see if the built-in model checkers can detect inconsistencies in the LSC’s. / The requirements capturing and analysis has always been the initial criteria and main problem during the software design and development for the software engineers. It’s been very common to use natural language for capturing the requirements in the industries because of its ease of use. The graphical languages were used to represent the requirements, its behavior and the scenarios graphically or visually, for example UML. UML Sequence diagrams are used in the real time software development to capture the requirements which specifies the scenarios of the system behavior and also the interactions between the objects graphically. Message sequence charts are also a graphical language for representing the scenarios and also the behavior of the system especially in the telecommunication domain. But these two are only useful in specifying the one aspect of the behavior and not much helpful in specifying the liveness of the requirement. Liveness can be defined as something good will happen [34] or something must happen. For this reason live sequence charts were developed which can specify the liveness of the requirement. Live sequence charts are capable of specifying the scenarios what may happen and what must happen. This thesis is to evaluate the live sequence charts using the play engine tool running on the windows machine and also to study the built in model checkers for formal verification. The thesis starts with the various types of graphical representation of requirements in Software Engineering, followed by the Research Methodology, next a bit more explanation of Live Sequence Charts, Evaluation, Result, Conclusions and Lessons Learned from the thesis. / Permanent Address: C/O: K.VIJAYA H.NO. 3-1-39/12/3/2 TEACHER'S COLONY ARMOOR-503224 ANDHRAPRADESH INDIA.

Yes / This article presents the application of the Enhanced Sequence Diagram (ESD) for the analysis of the functionality of a system with shape-changing aspects in the context of its multiple operational modes, considering an active rear spoiler as a case study. The article provides new insights on the ESD support for model-based capture and articulation of functional requirements across multiple operation modes of the same system, with appropriate detail on attributes and metrics, and the alignment of these attributes and metrics in line with the concept of time through scope lines. The article also provides a comprehensive argument and discussion, exemplified based on the case study, for the support that the ESD provides for early systems functional and architecture analysis, within the context of a broader model-based Failure Mode Analysis methodology.

Yes / This paper introduces an Enhanced Sequence Diagram (ESD) as the basis for a structured framework for the functional analysis of complex multidisciplinary systems. The ESD extends the conventional sequence diagrams (SD) by introducing a rigorous functional flow-based modelling schemata to provide an enhanced basis for model-based functional requirements and architecture analysis in the early systems design stages. The proposed ESD heuristics include the representation of transactional and transformative functions required to deliver the use case sequence, and fork and join nodes to facilitate analysis of combining and bifurcating operations on flows. A case study of a personal mobility device is used to illustrate the deployment of the ESD methodology in relation to three common product development scenarios: (i) reverse engineering, (ii) the introduction of a specific technology to an existent system; and (iii) the introduction of a new feature as user-centric innovation for an existing system, at a logical design level, without reference to any solution. The case study analysis provides further insights into the effectiveness of the ESD to support function modelling and functional requirements capture, and architecture development. The significance of this paper is that it establishes a rigorous ESD-based functional analysis methodology to guide the practitioner with its deployment, facilitating its impact to both the engineering design and systems engineering communities, as well as the design practice in the industry.

Originally devised as a notation to capture scenarios during analysis and design, sequence diagrams can also aid understanding of existing software through visualization of execution call traces. Reverse engineered sequence diagrams are typically huge and designing tools to help users cope with the size and complexity of such traces is a major problem. While preprocessing may be necessary to reduce the complexity of a sequence diagram, interactive tool support is critical to help the user explore and understand the resulting diagram. This thesis examines tool features necessary to effectively support sequence diagram exploration by reverse engineers. Features were derived from a literature survey and empirically evaluated using an exploratory user study. The tool features were further evaluated by situating them within theories of cognitive support.