Modeling Behavior with Interaction Diagrams in a UML and OCL Tool

This paper discusses system modeling with UML behavior diagrams. We consider statecharts and both kinds of interaction diagrams, i.e., sequence and communication diagrams. We present new implementation features in a UML and OCL modeling tool: (1) Sequence diagram lifelines are extended with states from statecharts, and (2) communication diagrams are introduced as an alternative to sequence diagrams. We assess the introduced features and propose selection mechanisms which should be available in both kinds of interaction diagrams. We emphasize the role that OCL can play for such selection mechanisms.