The Impact of Structural Complexity on the Understandability of UML Statechart Diagrams

Given the relevance that UML models and their quality have gained in actual software development strategies, such as the Model Driven-Development (MDD), we present an empirical study about the effect that structural complexity has on the understandability of UML statechart diagrams, i.e., the diagram’s ability to be easily understood. The current study is based on a family of three experiments. We have studied the data obtained in these experiments and built a preliminary understandability prediction model by means of a regression analysis using a technique specifically recommended when the data had been obtained through a repeated measures design.