Incremental diagram layout for automated model migration

Abstract

A range of successful modeling tools to develop complex systems use node-link-style diagrams as their underlying language. Over the years such languages can change, for instance as part of a tool update. When migrating existing models, changes in syntax directly affect the placement of elements in their diagrams. Increasing the size of certain nodes may for example result in node overlaps. In this paper we propose two methods based on graph drawing techniques to adjust the layout of existing diagrams after migration. Although we designed these techniques for diagram migration, they are applicable to other scenarios as well, such as users interactively adding or resizing nodes. We evaluate the techniques based on real world diagrams from the Lab VIEW suite and discuss the scenarios each technique seems best suited for.