Practices and Perceptions of UML Use in Open Source Projects

TitlePractices and Perceptions of UML Use in Open Source Projects
Publication TypeConference Proceedings
Year of Publication2017
AuthorsHo-Quang, T, Hebig, R, Robles, G, Chaudron, MRV, Fernandez, MA
Secondary Title2017 IEEE/ACM 39th International Conference on Software Engineering: Software Engineering in Practice Track
Pagination203-212
Date Published05/2017
Keywordsarchitecture documentation, communication, effectiveness of UML, github, MOTIVATION, UML
Abstract

Context: Open Source is getting more and more
collaborative with industry. At the same time, modeling is today
playing a crucial role in development of, e.g., safety critical
software. Goal: However, there is a lack of research about the
use of modeling in Open Source. Our goal is to shed some
light into the motivation and benefits of the use of modeling
and its use within project teams. Method: In this study, we
perform a survey among Open Source developers. We focus on
projects that use the Unified Modeling Language (UML) as a
representative for software modeling. Results: We received 485
answers of contributors of 458 different Open Source projects.
Conclusion: Collaboration seems to be the most important
motivation for using UML. It benefits new contributors and
contributors who do not create models. Teams use UML during
communication and planning of joint implementation efforts.

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