Modeling and Analyzing Software Behavior in UML

To my family The Heart of Gold's Improbability Drive made it the most powerful and unpredictable ship in existence. There was nothing it couldn't do, provided you knew exactly how improbable it was the thing you wanted it to do would ever happend. Acknowledgements This thesis is not the product of the work of a single person. After several years on the making, I am now really glad to be able to thank to everybody that has contributed in one or another way to this thesis. I think of researching as a similar experience as steering Douglas Adam's Heart of Gold: There is nothing impossible, provided you know exactly what you really want to do. Fortunately, I had my supervisor Professor Ralph-Johan Back helping me on this task. He has been a constant source of advice, guidance and support during all this time. who kindly reviewed the thesis. They provided many constructive comments to improve it and I hope that I have been able to follow and integrate all their suggestions in this manuscript. Damon Tringham patiently corrected all the misuses of beautiful English language. Most of the ideas presented in this thesis appeared in their initial form in several conference proceedings and a journal publication. These publications were coauthored by Professor Ralph-Johan Back and also by Professor Johan Lilius and Luigia Petre. My collaboration with them was not only scientifically fruitful but also a warm personal experience. Other colleagues fromÅbo Akademi University have also help me greatly in my research. Christina Cerschi, Professor Hannu Toivonen, Mauno Rönkkö and Professor Joakim von Wright provided many interesting comments in our enlightening discussions on the topics discussed in the thesis. Robert Gyllenberg and Marat Vagapov built the hardware of the digital sound recorder and made the validation of its design possible. Science provided an excellent working environment and generous financial support. I want to express my sincere thanks to all my colleagues for contributing to an inspiring working atmosphere. Dr. Mats Aspnäs provided reliable answers to the most diverse questions. Luigia and Mauno the best for their studies. Finally, I want to thank my family and friends and specially toÅsa, for their continuous and unconditional love and support, wherever I am.