A Tool-Supported Methodology for Validation and Refinement of Early-Stage Domain Models

• Published in: IEEE transactions on software engineering 2016-01, Vol.42 (1), p.2-25
• Main Authors: Autili, Marco, Bertolino, Antonia, De Angelis, Guglielmo, Di Ruscio, Davide, Di Sandro, Alessio
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Automation; Biological system modeling; Context; Context modeling; Domain Modeling; Early Stage Model; Engines; Load modeling; Model Driven Engineering; Model Refinement; Model Validation; Natural language; Natural Language Questionnaires; Semantic Model Quality; Semantics; Software engineering; Software quality; Studies; Subject specialists; Unified modeling language
• ISSN: 0098-5589; 1939-3520
• DOI: 10.1109/TSE.2015.2449319

Model-driven engineering (MDE) promotes automated model transformations along the entire development process. Guaranteeing the quality of early models is essential for a successful application of MDE techniques and related tool-supported model refinements. Do these models properly reflect the requirements elicited from the owners of the problem domain? Ultimately, this question needs to be asked to the domain experts. The problem is that a gap exists between the respective backgrounds of modeling experts and domain experts. MDE developers cannot show a model to the domain experts and simply ask them whether it is correct with respect to the requirements they had in mind. To facilitate their interaction and make such validation more systematic, we propose a methodology and a tool that derive a set of customizable questionnaires expressed in natural language from each model to be validated. Unexpected answers by domain experts help to identify those portions of the models requiring deeper attention. We illustrate the methodology and the current status of the developed tool MOTHIA, which can handle UML Use Case, Class, and Activity diagrams. We assess MOTHIA effectiveness in reducing the gap between domain and modeling experts, and in detecting modeling faults on the European Project CHOReOS.