From the Editor of Methods & Tools » UML

Unified Modeling Language (UML) Still Widely Used

The Editor — Tue, 25 May 2010 08:09:29 +0000

In 1997, the Object Management Group (OMG) made the UML a standard modelling language for object-oriented applications. Has the Agile adoption changed the way organizations use UML? Methods & Tools checked the current UML current usage with a poll asking the following question: What is the usage of UML modeling techniques at your location?:

Not using	30%
Partial implementation (adoption of some UML techniques)	25%
Partial deployment (some projects are using UML)	20%
Deployed (all new projects are using UML)	14%
Abandoned	11%

Participants: 134
Ending date: May 2010
Source: Methods & Tools

The Agile approach prefers face to face communication between developers and user. Feedback is quickly provided as short iterations deliver working software. User stories could be specified in simpler artifacts like index cards rather than put larger requirements documents. Some people are even saying that there should be no other documentation than working code, the only artifact that is always updated in a software development project. I was therefore a little bit surprised that despite the popularity of Agile on software development web sites and its increasing large survey adoption numbers, the usage of UML in the organizations has not decreased since 2005.

In our poll, only 11 % of the participants have stopped using UML. The current level of partial or full deployment is around 60%. Results of a similar poll conducted in 2005 were that 55% of the participants were in a partial or full deployment stage, but at that times 16% of the participants were investigating or running pilot projects with UML. So we had a potential usage of UML by 71% of the participants. With the numbers of the current survey for abandons and participants still using the UML, we reach a very close figure of 70%. I know that Methods & Tools readers and visitors have a high interest on the UML, as I published many articles on this approach in previous year, but another 2008 survey showed also that Agile was partially or completely adopted by more than 50% of the same population.

The Agile approach is certainly not against the UML. We should always remember that the Agile Manifesto says “while there is value in the items on the right, we value the items on the left more”. There are many reasons why Agility and UML coexist in the same organization. First, UML has been more widely adopted by larger organization where projects are bigger and the need for more formal documentation is important. These organizations have seen the transition to agile more as a change in their project management process, but they mostly kept their specialized work structure (business analysts, developers, testers) and their tools. Then, the need for an architectural support to the development of complex system is recognized in the Agile community and UML offer useful tools to meet this need. Finally, if a user story could be easily summarized with few words (as a…. I want … so that…), it could need a more detailed description to be developed and automatically tested. UML use cases are very suitable tools to describe interaction and results of a user scenario.

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1500 Tools to Assist Software Developers

The Editor — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 15:48:03 +0000

Created in 2007, the Software Development Tools Directory has now more than 1500 references. It is one of the rare web sites where you can see on the same location both commercial and open source software development tools. Tools are categorized by programming language, license, operating system or software development function (software testing, project management, database, IDE, user interface, etc.). The Open Source category is the most important one with 770 tools.

The five most popular open source tools in the directory are:
* IceScrum – agile project management
* ERmodeller – a CASE tool for data modeling
* ArgoUML – UML modeling with Java code generation
* StarUML – UML modeling tool
* Arbiter – requirements gathering and acceptance testing tool

Scrum, Java, Testing and UML in Methods & Tools Fall 2009

The Editor — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 06:37:25 +0000

Methods & Tools Fall 2009 issue has just been published with the following articles:
* Mature Scrum at Systematic: mixing CMMI and Scrum in the same company
* Implementing Automated Software Testing: metrics that help manage the transition to software testing automation
* The Spring Framework: an introduction to this java framework, aspect oriented programming and inversion of control
* The Learning View: how to improve your learning capabilities as a software developer
* Time and Synchronization in Executable UML

75 PDF pages of software development knowledge that you, your colleagues and friends can download freely from
http://www.methodsandtools.com/mt/download.php?fall09

Spring 2009 issue of Methods & Tools

The Editor — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 14:00:23 +0000

Methods & Tools is a free e-newsletter for software developers, testers and project managers. Spring 2009 issue’s content:

* How to Build Articulate Class Models and get Real Benefits from UML
* When Good Architecture Goes Bad
* Finding a Partner to Trust: The Agile RFP
* Database Locking: What it is, Why it Matters and What to do About it
* Code Generation for Dummies

80 pages of software development knowledge that you can download from
http://www.methodsandtools.com/mt/download.php?spring09

Linkopedia March 2009

The Editor — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 07:48:43 +0000

10 Papers Every Programmer Should Read (At Least Twice)

Manifesto for Software Craftsmanship

Nine Habits You Must Break To Be Successful with Scrum.

Earned Value Management

Violet UML Editor

DrJava is a lightweight development environment for writing Java programs.

London Java Community: Maven. This video is a whistle stop tour of Maven.

JavaScript: The Good Parts. This video shows the good parts of JavaScript.

Agile Retrospectives: Making Good Teams Great! In this video, Esther Derby and Diana Larsen introduce a framework for effective retrospectives.

Find more interesting links on the software development links directory, the software development tools directory, the software development articles directory or the software development videos directory

Summer 2008 Issue of Methods & Tools

The Editor — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 15:17:24 +0000

Methods & Tools is a free e-newsletter for software developers, testers and project managers. Summer 2008 issue’s content:
* UML versus Domain-Specific Languages
* We Increment to Adapt, We Iterate to Improve
* Building Products with Acceptance TDD
* Getting and Keeping Control over your Project

60 pages of software development knowledge.

To download or read this issue go to http://www.methodsandtools.com/

Book: UML 2.0 in Action – A Project Based Tutorial

The Editor — Mon, 26 May 2008 08:41:51 +0000

This book from Henriette Baumann, Philippe Baumann and Patrick Graessle is a very good introduction to the power of modeling with UML. After an initial presentation of the basic principles of modeling and UML, the book presents the diagrams used to model both business and software views of systems. The final part is devoted to the models that can be used for system integration.

All the diagrams are presented through the same case study. This book does not claim to be a detailed presentation of UML. It achieves with its case study to reach a good balance between providing enough knowledge to be used in real life situations, without being lost in features that are rarely used. The nicest aspect of this book is that it is not only a technical manual on UML diagrams, but it provides also valuable information and tips on how to create and verify them, by providing questions that will help you to conduct your analysis. This is a book that I will recommend as a reference for developers performing system analysis and design activities. It is also a good practical book for students that follow an UML course.

Packt Publishing ISBN: 1904811558, Paperback: 248 pages

Click here to get more details on this book or buy it on amazon.com

Click here to get more details on this book or buy it on amazon.co.uk