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What You Really Need To Know About The UML : was something else
Subject:What You Really Need To Know About The UML : was something else From:Richard Lewis <tech44writer -at- yahoo -dot- com> To:Pro TechWriter <pro -dot- techwriter -at- gmail -dot- com>, ekarenski-techwrl -at- yahoo -dot- com Date:Thu, 21 Jun 2007 12:10:06 -0700 (PDT)
Hi:
A ways back on the requirements engineering listserv, I discussed the UML with Dov Dori and some of his associates (especially, Shalom Cohen out of the University of Tel Aviev). Dov is chairman of systems engineering at MIT. He is currently leading an effort at IBM to replace the UML. He says that the UML is just to complex. If the chairman of systems engineering at MIT says that it is too complex - it is tooo complex!
The vast majority of development staff who try to use the UML modeling techniques greatly bastardize the models - to the point that they are of very little use. Not only that, even if they were to be done right, you really could not do much with these models as, at least the ones I am most familiar with (use cases and activity diagrams) just do not work.
So remember, when it comes to the UML, you do not REALLY need to know how to use the stuff. You just need, for interviewing purposes, to be able to throw the words around in a sentence or so with a smile on your face.
Richard Lewis
Pro TechWriter <pro -dot- techwriter -at- gmail -dot- com> wrote:
Great questions, Karen.
I also transitioned from technical writing into business analysis. Here are
some books that I used while working on UML projects. Just remember that the
methodologies are only one more way to express information. At first, using
UML and use cases was a bit intimidating, but when I got the hang of it, I
really liked it and found it useful.
When you have read some of the material, you can go ahead and create use
cases based on the steps in the books as samples. Use something that you are
familiar with (the ATM machine has been used a million times).
Most of these books are available on Amazon.
- Writing Effective Use Cases by Alistair Cockburn (Paperback - Jan
15, 2000)
- Software Requirements, Second Edition by Karl E. Wiegers (Paperback
- Feb 26, 2003)
- UML for the IT Business Analyst: A Practical Guide to
Object-Oriented Requirements Gathering by Howard Podeswa (Paperback - Jun 7,
2005)
- Use Case Modeling by Kurt Bittner and Ian Spence (Paperback - Aug
20, 2002)
- Managing Software Requirements: A Use Case Approach, Second Edition
by Dean Leffingwell and Don Widrig (Hardcover - May
Good luck!
- PT
On 6/21/07, Karen wrote:
>
> In a previous job, my technical writing turned into a business/data
> analyst job. I'd really like to get back into a business analyst role
> since I'm also a data junkie and have programming experience.
>
> A lot of the jobs want experience with "use case modeling" and "UML
> methodology". Also, experience in use case diagrams, activity diagrams,
> sequence diagrams, and class diagrams. I'm finding different samples on the
> web; however, I was wondering if someone on the list (perhaps a business
> major) has any recommendations on a book or web site that will help get me
> up to speed?
--
> PT
> pro -dot- techwriter -at- gmail -dot- com
> I'm a Technical Technical Writer!
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