Abstract
Analysis and design is a critical distinction (and consummate challenge) of information systems as a discipline. Object orientation as a mantra and central focus has characterized much recent analysis and design attention. The role of object models in information systems development and challenges associated with developing quality object models especially by novice analysts is a salient point of interest. Illustrative examples of good-quality and poor-quality object models or parts of object models offer guidance available for learning and developing object models. Our research attempts to assess the usefulness of using positive versus negative examples in teaching object modeling skills, so as to enable better learning outcomes for novice analysts. Results of a controlled experiment comparing the effects of positive and negative examples on the quality of object models produced show that positive examples enhanced syntactic quality, negative examples improved semantic quality, and neither had much impact on pragmatic quality.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ali, A. M. (1981). The use of positive and negative examples during instruction. Journal of Instructional Development, 5(1): 2–7.
Bolloju, N., and Leung, F. S. K. (2006). Assisting novice analysts in developing quality conceptual models with UML. Communications of the ACM, 49(7): 108–112.
Booch, G., Maksimchuk, R., Engle, M., Young, B., Conallen, J., and Houston, K. (2007). Object-oriented analysis and design with applications, 3rd edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Addison-Wesley Professional.
Borstler, J., and Hadar, I. (2008). Pedagogies and tools for the teaching and learning of object oriented concepts. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 4906: 182.
Brown W.J., McCormick, H.W., Mowbray, T.J., and Malveau, R.C. (1998). AntiPatterns: refactoring software, architectures, and projects in crisis. New York, NY: Wiley.
Dennis, A., and Wixom, B. H. (2005). Systems analysis and design with UML version 2.0: an object-oriented approach. New York, NY: Wiley.
Dobing, B., and Parsons, J. (2006). How UML is used. Communications of the ACM, 49(5): 109–113.
George, J. F., Batra, D., Valacich, J. S., and Hoffer, J. A. (2007). Object-oriented systems analysis and design, 2nd ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Ito, T. A., Larsen, J. T., Smith, N. K., Cacioppo, J. T., and Cacioppo, J. T. (2002). Negative information weighs more heavily on the brain: The negativity bias in evaluative categorizations. Foundations in Social Neuroscience, 575–598. The MIT Press.
Kotzé, P., Renaud, K., and Biljon, J. (2008). Don’t do this – Pitfalls in using anti-patterns in teaching human–computer interaction principles. Computers & Education, 50(3): 979–1008.
Kotzé, P., Renaud, K., Koukouletsos, K., Khazaei, B., and Dearden, A. (2006). Patterns, anti-patterns and guidelines – effective aids to teaching HCI principles? Proceedings of the First Joint BCS/IFIP WG13, 1.
Laplante, P. A., and Neill, C. J. (2006). AntiPatterns: Identification, refactoring and management, p. 304. Boca Raton, FL: Auerbach Publications.
Lindland, O. I., Sindre, G., and Solvberg, A. (1994). Understanding quality in conceptual modeling. IEEE Software, 11(2): 42–49.
Moritz, S. H., and Blank, G. D. (2005). A design-first curriculum for teaching Java in a CS1 course. ACM SIGCSE Bulletin, 37(2): 89–93.
Peeters, G., and Czapinski, J. (1990). Positive-negative asymmetry in evaluations: The distinction between affective and informational negativity effects. In: W. Stroebe and M. Hewstone (Eds.), European Review of Social Psychology (Vol. 1), pp. 33–60. New York, NY: Wiley.
Siau, K., and Cao, Q. (2001). Unified modeling language: A complexity analysis. Journal of Database Management, 12(1): 26–34.
Siau, K., Erickson, J., and Lee, L. Y. (2005). Theoretical vs. practical complexity: The case of UML. Journal of Database Management, 16(3): 40–57.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Appendices
Appendix 1: Some Common Quality Problems and Corresponding Positive and Negative Examples
Category | Description | Positive example | Negative example |
|---|---|---|---|
Syntactic | Class name is a noun, mostly singular, and it begins with an uppercase letter | Class “Sale” is appropriately named using a noun | Class “Sell” is improperly named because it is not a noun |
Association name should be a verb phrase that represents the relationship when it is read along the reading direction from one class to the other | The association name “works at” between “Employee” and “Store” is a verb phrase | The association name “at” between “Store” and “Employee” is not a verb phrase | |
Semantic | The multiplicity end should have a correct range according to the problem domain description | The multiplicity range for association “places” is correctly specified (a “Customer” places one or more “Orders”) | Multiplicity for association “picked up at” is wrongly specified on the side of class “Order” (i.e., a “Store” can only have zero or 1 “Order” for pickup) |
All attributes relevant to the problem domain entity should be included in the class (i.e., important attributes should not be missing) | The class “Employee” includes many important attributes such as name, phone, and baseSalary | The class “Employee” does not have some important attributes such as name, phone, and baseSalary | |
Pragmatic | There must be sufficient distinction between (or among) the subclasses (i.e., each subclass has a unique set of attributes and/or relationships) | Sufficient distinction between subclasses “Manager” and “SalesPerson” exists for specialization | Insufficient distinction between subclasses “Manager” and “AssistantManager” for specialization |
Attributes (e.g., age, total amount) which can be computed or replicated from parent side of relationships should not be shown in the conceptual model | No attributes of class “SalesPerson” are redundant | The attribute “storeAddress” in class “SalesPerson” is redundant |
Appendix 2: Smallbytes Subscription System Case Study and Expected Solution
Smallbytes is published on a monthly basis; a typical monthly issue consists of 5–10 articles, each written by one or more authors in the software engineering field. The authors receive a year’s free subscription as a token of appreciation for their efforts. Most authors have written only one article during the journal’s 5-year history, but a few have written several. For such authors, another 1-year complimentary subscription is given following the expiry date of the current subscription.
Smallbytes also has an editorial board of advisors, some of whom may also be authors from time to time. The editorial board normally serves for a 1- or 2-year term and they too receive a complimentary subscription to the magazine. The editorial board reviews submitted articles and recommends publication if the article is of good quality.
Smallbytes is sold on a subscription basis. Payments for new subscriptions are normally received by check. Some subscribers pay by credit card. Most subscriptions are for a 1-year period, but the publisher accepts subscriptions for periods longer than or shorter than a year by simply pro-rating the annual subscription price. Most of the subscribers are “single-copy” subscribers; however, some large companies order multiple copies, all of which are sent to the same address. Multiple-copy subscriptions typically involve a small discount from the single-price copy.
Appendix 3: Screenshot of Training Environment Showing a Positive Example (group P)
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2011 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC
About this paper
Cite this paper
Bolloju, N., Schneider, C., Vogel, D. (2011). Asymmetrical Effects of Using Positive and Negative Examples on Object Modeling. In: Song, W., et al. Information Systems Development. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-7355-9_8
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-7355-9_8
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4419-7205-7
Online ISBN: 978-1-4419-7355-9
eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)