Simplifying maintenance by using XSLT to unlock UML models in a distributed development environment

XMI is a standardized format for model interchange between tools. However, XMI-based interchange currently has one great disadvantage: an XMI file exported from one tool is unlikely to import correctly into a different tool. This makes XMI unusable for moving models around in a heterogeneous development environment, leading to increased maintenance problems. We suggest using specialized XSLT transformations to bridge between the XMI dialects of tools, and report on an industrial case study in which the technique has been successfully applied.