Making the comprehension of software architecture attractive

Abstract

Visualization stimulates the cognitive capacity of humans and facilitates the understanding of a subject. It performs a crucial role in teaching software architecture. As systems become more complex, new education proposals have been introduced in the classroom, especially those that make teaching more attractive to students. This paper presents the VisAr3D approach which was designed to provide a 3D visualization of UML models, where the user should intuitively understand architectural elements in this 3D environment. It includes exploration, interaction and simulation resources to establish a practical and pleasant learning activity, focusing in large scale systems.