There are many ways to do design and there are a huge lot of tools that can be used for UML modeling. Most of my experience is that UML design and code generation works pretty well if set up properly, but I still think that the transform from abstract architecture into UML design models is still hard to manage. Perhaps because abstract architecture does not really result in code, but in systems and rules and process descriptions.This leads back to the tooling issue. I have been using Enterprise Architect from Sparx Systems for a while and like it but what to do if the customer does not have an established tooling for Architecture.
This might sound like one of those vi versus vim questions, or Linux versus Windows, but it is not. The tooling is important. Not in the sens that it must be a certain software from a certain vendor but working with enterprise architecture mostly results in a evolutionary step that is expected to live for a long time and that is expected to take even further evolutionary steps.
In this sens the tooling is important as my work will be base for further development by someone else for the upcoming say 10 years. I cannot do the tooling on my this-is-the-software-I-like but must ensure that the tools is selected with long term aspects as well.
It is at this point I start evaluating the word processor as UML tool using clipart one way or another. This is what we got when I started 1992; we did all design in Fram Maker on Sun OS 4 and OpenLook. Those where the days ;)
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| Archimate Symbols |
And I still can fell pretty comfortable working in the word processor as long there is a decent set of symbols. Currently I have had hard to find a decent set of Archimate Symbols so I decided to build my own. This did not only result in the symbols but I did them in Google Docs Drawing as well and can now do Archimate Design in the cloud. For my this makes the same value of Google Draw as MS Visio Professional used to do but for anyone with a google mail account it is gratis. I am very pleased.So pleased I decided to allow
You to use the Archimate Symbols licenced under
Creative Commons - CC0 1.0.
// Erik
