Informal diagrams created in general-purpose diagramming tools are widely used in software architecture because they are quick to produce and easy to share. However, the lack of constraints in such tools often yields inconsistent notations and ad-hoc conventions, which in turn invite misinterpretation when diagrams are read outside their original context. Dedicated modeling languages and environments can mitigate these issues but are frequently resisted due to steep learning curves and disruptive adoption costs. Building on the flexible modeling paradigm, this paper proposes an approach to the lightweight formalization of informal diagrams. Grounded in observed industrial challenges and prior work on flexible modeling, we derive a set of design principles and instantiate them in an approach realized as a Draw.io plugin. We propose an approach that addresses challenges from industrial settings by enabling practitioners to introduce structure incrementally into the informal diagrams they already create, thereby helping resolve notational inconsistency and clarify meaning. Moreover, we show how our approach satisfies the guiding flexible modeling principles by introducing these model-like benefits without compromising the accessibility and speed of informal diagramming as valued in practice. The contribution enhances clarity and consistency within familiar workflows and lays the groundwork for subsequent capabilities such as rapid dissemination of conventions, enterprise-level aggregation, and additional quality checks should organizations choose to adopt them. © 2026, Science and Technology Publications, Lda. All rights reserved.

Software-intensive systems are characterized by intricate interactions, distributed structures, and ongoing evolution posing notable challenges for traceability, change analysis, and decision support. Modeling and versioning practices are widely used to manage this complexity; however, in practice, they are often fragmented, limiting the value that organizations can derive from them. To address this challenge, we map modeling and versioning practices to the benefits they enable, providing a structured framework for practitioners to assess their current practices and identify opportunities for incremental improvement. Building on findings from our previous interview study with multiple companies, together with insights from the literature, we identify four levels of modeling formality, five levels of versioning sophistication, and four categories of benefits, summarized in two mapping tables. Our contributions include a practitioner-oriented roadmap that helps teams reflect on current modeling and versioning practices, anticipate achievable benefits, and identify incremental adjustments that can add value with minimal overhead. An initial validation with industry representatives confirms the practical relevance of the roadmap and highlights its potential to guide structured reflection and improvement of modeling and versioning practices.

The collaborative nature of model-driven software engineering introduces significant challenges in safeguarding the confidentiality and integrity of the collaborative model. Existing access control mechanisms often rely on transient, virtual views lacking persistence and fine-grained permissions, making them unsuitable for scenarios requiring offline collaboration and leading to potential security breaches and user frustration. This work describes a dual-layered approach leveraging role-based access control policies to enhance security in collaborative modeling environments. The first layer utilizes multi-view modeling techniques to create materialized view models tailored to specific user roles, thereby restricting unnecessary access to the entire model. The second layer refines access at the individual element level within these view models, establishing fine-grained permissions enforced by model editors. This proactive enforcement prevents unauthorized actions before they occur, improving user experience and efficiency. The proposed approach, implemented as an Eclipse plugin and demonstrated through an illustrative example, ensures the confidentiality and integrity of shared model data by granting stakeholders access only to information relevant to their specific responsibilities and expertise. By filtering out irrelevant data, the approach also mitigates information overload, enabling stakeholders to concentrate on task-relevant aspects of the model, thereby potentially improving collaborative efficiency and effectiveness.