Self-Directed Creation and Editing of UML Class Diagrams on Mobile Devices for Visually Impaired People

Abstract

Visually impaired people (VIP) face difficulties interacting with information that rely heavily on visuals such as diagrams. In this paper, we focus on improving the accessibility of class diagrams based on the Unified Modeling Language (UML). UML is a widely used standard for modelling software. While the creation of such diagrams is often done with graphic editors, multiple text-based approaches can be used by VIP. This paper proposes a novel interaction pattern by not solely relying on textual input. We leverage existing accessibility tools provided in current mobile devices and extend the device with a cost-effective physical guide. We compare our prototype to a textual modelling language (TML), namely PlantUML. The tests show that our solution is in many cases more suitable for new users since it lowers the learning curve significantly compared to TMLs. It also provides a benefit to VIP users with prior knowledge of a TML, especially when reading and navigating diagrams.