Comments on: Is UML Requred For A Good Design?

By: Nambo

Nambo — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 07:31:31 +0000

I have read this topic in this forum so I know what is going on with UML decision that my boss asked us to look at it.

I do not know that it is a good idea to use it now when all the current products do not use UML from the start point.

If you were me, how do you think?
Sincerely
Nam

By: AIGuru

AIGuru — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 07:16:16 +0000

UML sounds good as beginning but until you involve with it deeper, then you will see how messy it is.
You just need the paper, the pencil to design your cases. Then you can later use MS WORD to record it and send to everyone at your team.

Good luck.

By: Abhijit Nadgouda

Abhijit Nadgouda — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 06:21:25 +0000

I have created this habit of laying out the interfaces before I set into anything deep in the design. It helps me get an overview along with some of the interactions. I am not sure if it will work for all, but it works well for me. Maybe I should write a post of how I find it useful.

I mostly write those classes, which actually is a design task, but I sometimes do it through code.

By: Techblissonline Dot Com

Techblissonline Dot Com — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 06:06:35 +0000

abhijit, when you say that you start with a code do you actually code it is just the skeleton i.e. the class, its attribute and api definitions and its relationship with other classes…

By: Laurence@SmartDraw

Laurence@SmartDraw — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 17:31:37 +0000

“UML is good if everyone on the team uses it with the same sincerity. UML fails not because of itself, the blame goes mostly to the tools and some to us developers.”

I agree with your assertion that the use of UML is dependent on team buy-in. Most organizational systems require everyone to use them or else they are completely useless.

However, if it’s useful for you, there’s nothing to stop you from diagramming out your own code. Personally, I like seeing the objects related spatially because I’m a visual learner.

By: Abhijit Nadgouda

Abhijit Nadgouda — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 10:50:54 +0000

Yanic, thanks for the links, will surely check out Trace Modeler.

Binny, yes I go agree with you that it is important to design before starting to code with it. I too usually use paper and pencil for it. However, I will not deny that sometimes I start with the code, and that actually helps me identify some parameters better. I cannot give it to the clients, but neither can I give UML in most cases.

By: Binny V A

Binny V A — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 15:16:42 +0000

You should design your application before coding it – using UML to do it based on personal preference. I prefer the paper and pen approach. But you will not be able give that to the client.

By: Yanic

Yanic — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 14:02:10 +0000

Hi,

I think you’re absolutely right that tool vendors are partially to blame for UML getting a bad name. Many people nowadays feel that UML is for whiteboarding only.

I encountered the same issues when I needed to draw a lot of sequence diagrams. But instead of dismissing them, I decided to make a tool that actually makes you more productive with UML.

It’s called Trace Modeler and its a smart and easy to use editor for UML sequence diagrams.

Check out this 30 sec demo of Trace Modeler in action if you’re in a hurry.

I also agree that UML isn’t necessary to arrive at a good design, it is however the best notation we have to communicate that design to others.

Code browsing is a boring, frustrating and unproductive way of familiarizing yourself with an unknown codebase, sadly it is often the only option available to us.

I think Trace Modeler shows that it is possible to do a better job at supporting UML in the development process, not only for documentation purposes but also for exploratory design.

If you give it a try let me know what you think of it, I’m always happy to get feedback.

Best regards,
Yanic