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Software Architecture Guide

UML Modeling Best Practice

Explanation

Section titled “Explanation”

UML is a notation for drawing software models. Using it well in a team depends less on the notation and more on shared habits.

Know how you use UML. Fowler names three modes: sketch, blueprint, and programming language. Sketches stress selective communication. They show what matters and skip a full specification. UML 2 added precision aimed at the blueprint and programming-language modes. That extra precision can burden people who only sketch. Decide which mode your team is in, so nobody demands more detail than needed.

Agree on standards. Agile Modeling has a practice called Apply Modeling Standards. The team agrees on a common set of modeling standards and then follows them. Its style guidelines are described as proven strategies. They make diagrams easier to understand and work with. For related guidance, see Modeling Method and Rules of Thumb for Modeling.

Model as a group. Modeling is a group activity. It benefits from the input of several people working together.

Share the results. Models can be displayed publicly, for example on a modeling wall. Open display supports sharing and publication of the models.

Example

Section titled “Example”

A team building an online shop writes down one set of modeling standards. Two developers sketch the checkout flow together, showing only the steps that matter. They pin the sketch to the team’s modeling wall. Later diagrams follow the same standards, so everyone reads them the same way.

Trade-offs

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Shared standards make diagrams easier to work with, but the team must agree on them and keep following them. Extra precision in UML 2 suits blueprint and programming-language use. It can burden people who only sketch.

Checks

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  • The document states which modeling standards the team follows.
  • The diagrams follow the team’s style guidelines consistently.
  • The document makes clear whether diagrams are sketches or more precise specifications.
  • Models are made visible to the team, for example on a modeling wall.
Section titled “Related”

Sources

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