I taught object-oriented analysis and design with UML to a wide range of developers working on various projects. The projects spanned application domains including retail shelf space management, pharmaceutical clinical trials, cellular telephony, and more. Implementation languages included Visual Basic, C++, Java, DB2, and others. This article discusses several aspects of how well the UML notation, along with my company's use case-driven Unified Object Modeling process (also based on the methods of Booch, Jacobson, and Rumbaugh), met the demands of a diverse set of projects. It provides practical guidance for tailoring your use of UML for various projects.
The UML notation is big (maybe too big) and is flexible enough to accommodate the needs of a very wide range of projects. To succeed with UML, you must streamline how you use it. Different projects will need different pieces. Which specific elements of the UML notation you need for your project will depend on its nature (client/server with a mainframe RDBMS vs. real-time embedded, for example) and on the implementation language you will be using. Some detailed C++ design constructs are not needed if you're building in Java or Smalltalk, and you may want to avoid too much use of generalization or inheritance if you're building in Visual Basic. Sometimes, the sheer volume of modeling constructs can be overwhelming, especially to those students who are new to object-oriented analysis and design. However, the good news is that you can model almost anything using UML. There are plenty of modeling constructs to go around.
Did you find this white paper useful?
20 out of 38 users found this white paper useful
Related white papers
Model Driven Development for Systems Webinar
Rhapsody is fast becoming the leading MDD environment within the Mil/Aero community, being a major player in programs such as the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), Future Combat Systems (FCS) and...
On Guard: Producing Run-Time Checks From Integrity Constraints
Software applications are inevitably concerned with data integrity, whether the data is stored in a database, files, or program memory. An integrity guard is code executed before a data update...
Bridging the Gap Between Systems, Software, and Test
Building off its initial and very successful UML 2.0 based Model-Driven Development (MDD) solution, Rhapsody 5.0, I-Logix has created a new generation solution to allow Systems, Software, and Test engineers...
Object-Oriented Project Management
Object-orientation is a way of looking at the world as "classes" of "objects" in order to model the real world more effectively than traditional structured software engineering or other methods...
Enterprise Unified Process: Enhancing the Unified Process to Meet the Real-World Needs of Your Organization
In short, not too good. Software projects are usually late, are usually over budget, are likely to be cancelled, and if not then the final software rarely meets the expectations of...
Java Jr.: Fully Abstract Trace Semantics for a Core Java Language
This paper introduces an expressive yet semantically clean core Java-like language, Java Jr., and provides it with a formal operational semantics based on traces of observable actions which represent interaction...
PowerDesigner - Modeling for Java Developers
This webcast explains how PowerDesigner applies the principles of an integrated modeling tool to help in Java and J2EE development. It explains how UML and E/R modeling combine to boost...
