Modeling compliance specifications in linear temporal logic, event processing language and property specification patterns: a controlled experiment on understandability

Modeling compliance specifications in linear temporal logic, event processing language and property specification patterns: a controlled experiment on understandability

Abstract

Mature verification and monitoring approaches, such as complex event processing and model checking, can be applied for checking compliance specifications at design time and runtime. Little is known about the understandability of the different formal and technical languages associated with these approaches. This uncertainty regarding understandability might be a major obstacle for the broad practical adoption of those techniques. This article reports a controlled experiment with 215 participants on the understandability of modeling compliance specifications in representative modeling languages, namely linear temporal logic (LTL), the complex event processing-based event processing language (EPL) and property specification patterns (PSP). The formalizations in PSP were overall more correct. That is, the pattern-based approach provides a higher level of understandability than EPL and LTL. More advanced users, however, seemingly are able to cope equally well with PSP and EPL in modeling compliance specifications.

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Authors
  • Czepa, Christoph
  • Amiri, Amirali
  • Ntentos, Evangelos
  • Zdun, Uwe
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Shortfacts
Category
Journal Paper
Divisions
Software Architecture
Subjects
Informatik Allgemeines
Angewandte Informatik
Journal or Publication Title
Software and Systems Modeling
ISSN
1619-1366
Publisher
Springer
Place of Publication
Berlin Heidelberg
Page Range
pp. 3331-3371
Volume
18
Date
2 February 2019
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