Talk to me! Toward Speech-based UML Modeling

Modelling is a core task in enterprise systems engineering. The use of graphical modelling editors, however, remains cumbersome in general and poses a significant challenge for users with disabilities. Natural language processing (NLP) and intent recognition are at the forefront of making many technologies more accessible and intuitive by allowing users to engage using natural language. This paper presents a natural language interface (NLI) for speech-based UML model interaction that leverages state-of-the-art NLP technologies to enable speech-based modelling. We provide a workflow for the creation of NLIs for modelling editors, a proof-of-concept integration of this approach into the bigUML open-source modelling editor, and an empirical evaluation that shows promising results in intent recognition, the effectiveness of model creation, and usability. Thereby, this paper makes significant contributions towards more natural, inclusive, and accessible modelling.