Maybe it is not so wrong a question.
There must be some level of complexity in your work, below which creating
certain diagrams may cost more than what you get out of them. I would
suggest starting with the fewest you can get away with, then add other ones
as the need arises.
My definition of "need" is this:
(1) I know that a needed artefact will save me time/money/effort when I
create/maintain another artefact that I already proved I need.
(2) The first artefact I need is the code.
Work backwards from this and see how many documents or diagrams you really
need. Health warning: the answer may upset project teams that have already
produced a lot of documents and models. Sticking to these rules may make you
less employable.
If you are doing use cases, I would definitely expect to see the use cases
and class diagrams (assuming that this is not a very small project). I said
"use cases" and omitted "use case diagrams" because if the use cases are
straightforward, you may not need the diagrams.
If you want to trace between use cases and the code, you will also need to
add the names of the participating classes in your use case template. If you
want to show the class participation in more detail, the sequence and
collaboration diagrams come in useful.
If the use cases are complicated, activity diagrams sometimes help to
clarify them. I prefer to make my use case text simple and clear enough to
dispense with these. If the use cases get that complicated, you really have
to ask yourself if you couldn't have done a better job writing them or
factoring out the things that make them complicated.
A larger, component-based system will need its component diagrams.
I have yet to see a project that gets any benefit out of deployment
diagrams, except as wallpaper.
Of course, each one of these costs to produce. But (and most teams forget
this) they cost even more to maintain. If you are not doing throwaway
modelling (which should remain the province of back-of-the-envelope designs
as there is no point in prettifying ephemeral pictures), maintenance of the
artefacts is the killer. So, you really must prove to yourself that the
artefact's benefit will outweigh the cost of both creating and maintaining
it.
I've been with many a team that spent valuable time maintaining pictures and
documents that were seen only when they were updated (i.e. dead-end
artefacts that did not lead to something else). Once they had created the
documents, they could not admit (without losing face) that they did not
really need these things; so, they were condemned to maintain them forever.
... well, actually, until the project ran out of money and canned.
Regards,
Huseyin Angay
Karabash Ltd.
www.karabash.co.uk
> ----------
> From: Soren Langkilde Madsen[SMTP:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
> Reply To: Soren Langkilde Madsen
> Sent: 01 February 2001 14:08
> To: 'Van Rijn, Maarten'; [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Subject: RE: (ROSE) UML Diagrams
>
> Hi Maarten
>
> Well, the point is (IMHO) that no single diagram is *the* most important
> diagram. Modeling a system most often means creating different views on
> the system. You can depict static structure with class diagrams, you can
> depict dynamic structure with sequence diagrams and so on.
>
> So, the short answers is: you ask the wrong question :-)
>
> Soren Langkilde Madsen
> [EMAIL PROTECTED] / www.fagerbo.dk
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Van Rijn, Maarten [ mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
> Sent: 1. februar 2001 14:51
> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Subject: (ROSE) UML Diagrams
>
>
>
> Hello everyone,
>
> We are having a small discussion in the company right now. I was wondering
>
> what your opinion is about this.
> The question is, which of the diagrams are most important to your
> development process? and most of all why?
>
> I am looking forward to your replies.
>
>
> Maarten van Rijn
> Siemens Metering AS
> Bratsbergvn. 5 7-3 7493 Trondheim Norway
> Tlf: +47 73 95 98 00
> www.siemet.no
>
> ************************************************************************
> * Rose Forum is a public venue for ideas and discussions.
> * For technical support, visit http://www.rational.com/support
> *
> * Admin.Subscription Requests: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> * Archive of messages:
> http://www.rational.com/products/rose/usergroups/rose_forum.jtmpl
> * Other Requests: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> *
> * To unsubscribe from the list, please send email
> *
> * To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> * Subject:<BLANK>
> * Body: unsubscribe rose_forum
> *
> *************************************************************************
>
>
************************************************************************
* Rose Forum is a public venue for ideas and discussions.
* For technical support, visit http://www.rational.com/support
*
* Admin.Subscription Requests: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
* Archive of messages:
http://www.rational.com/products/rose/usergroups/rose_forum.jtmpl
* Other Requests: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
*
* To unsubscribe from the list, please send email
*
* To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
* Subject:<BLANK>
* Body: unsubscribe rose_forum
*
*************************************************************************
