Exploring microsoft hololens for interactive visualization of UML diagrams

Abstract

Large diagrams of Unified Modeling Language (UML) are complex. In this paper we propose a novel approach to reducing this complexity by not focusing on UML itself but how we interact with it. We lift UML into an interactive 3D space and apply concepts and design guidelines of Natural User Interfaces (NUI). The goal is to present UML in a way that is easy to understand and that scales well regardless of the size and complexity of a software architecture. This research is aimed at a business landscape and collaboration between several architects. We start by describing the interactive system with a small introduction to the technologies in use and then look at the current state of UML and different interpretations of virtual realities. We follow up with our design rationale for the 3DML system and then evaluate it based on established design guidelines for NUI. We finally elaborate on valuable outcomes in the short and long term as well as a conclusion on the 3DML project in general.