UML in software engineering practice: Does the experience level matter?

Summary form only given. The Unified Modeling Language (UML) has been created on the basis of expert opinions and has now become accepted as the de facto standard for modeling object oriented software systems. UML is used in all the phases of the development process: from requirements elicitation and analysis to maintenance. Due to its complicated structure and notations questions arise about its effectiveness and usefulness and on whether a given experience level is needed to benefit from UML. Answers to these questions can be given through the execution of specially designed empirical studies: surveys, case studies, and controlled experiments.