TITLE:
Usability Experiments to Evaluate UML/SysML-Based Model Driven Software Engineering Notations for Logic Control in Manufacturing Automation
AUTHORS:
Birgit Vogel-Heuser
KEYWORDS:
Manufacturing Automation Software, Programming Environment, Software Engineering, User Interface Human Factors
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Software Engineering and Applications,
Vol.7 No.11,
October
30,
2014
ABSTRACT: Many industrial companies and
researchers are looking for more efficient model driven engineering approaches
(MDE) in software engineering of manufacturing automation systems (MS)
especially for logic control programming, but are uncertain about the
applicability and effort needed to implement those approaches in comparison to
classical Programmable Logic Controller(PLC)
programming with IEC 61131-3. The paper summarizes results of usability
experiments evaluating UML and SysML as software engineering notations for a
MDE applied in the domain of manufacturing systems. Modeling MS needs to cover
the domain specific characteristics,i.e.hybrid process, real time requirements
and communication requirements. In addition the paper presents factors,
constraint and practical experience for the development of further usability experiments.
The paper gives examples of notational expressiveness and weaknesses of UML and
SysML. The appendix delivers detailed master models, representing the correct
best suited model, and evaluation schemes of the experiment, which is helpful
if setting up own empirical experiments.