Towards Trace Visualization and Exploration for Reactive Systems

In this paper - as a natural extension of the idea of using visual formalisms for the modeling itself - we present a technique for the visualization and exploration of execution traces of such models. Our approach is different from previous approaches, most of which consider execution traces at the code level, look for interaction patterns in the traces, or generate concrete sequence diagrams from recorded execution traces. In contrast, we take an inter-object scenario-based behavioral model given by the designer as input, and visualize the activation and progress of the scenarios therein as they "come to life" during execution. We illustrate the ideas using modal scenarios, given in a UML-compliant dialect of live sequence charts (LSC).