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One of the most useful, and most
common, type of model is a free-form diagram. Yet they
rarely seem to be recognized as an “official” diagram
type, perhaps because it’s difficult to set free-form
modeling standards or convince you that you need an
expensive tool to create them – whiteboards work just
fine, thank you. Figure 1 depicts a free-form diagram of
the technical architecture for the University system. I
regularly see whiteboard drawing like this at clients as
well as depicted in architecture books (although these
diagrams are usually drawn with a tool such as Microsoft
Visio to make them look pretty). This diagram shows the
architectural layering, software components such as
the business rule and security engines, middleware such
as web services and the message bus, and hardware nodes
such as the mainframe and application servers. A
mishmash of information that would likely require
several UML diagrams to capture,
UML component diagrams and
UML deployment diagrams come to mind, yet this
single sketch seems to communicate the architectural
landscape for your system nicely. |
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Figure 1. A free-form
architecture diagram.
I think the idea of free-form
diagrams is self explanatory so I’m not going to go into
anymore detail. The important point is to realize that
they are a valid architectural modeling option that is
available to you.
This artifact description is excerpted from Chapter 10 of
The Object Primer 3rd Edition: Agile Model Driven
Development with UML 2.
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The Object Primer 3rd Edition: Agile Model Driven
Development with UML 2 is an
important reference book for agile modelers,
describing how to develop 35
types of agile
models including all 13
UML 2 diagrams.
Furthermore, this book describes the techniques
of the
Full Lifecycle Object Oriented Testing
(FLOOT) methodology to give you the fundamental
testing skills which you require to succeed at
agile software development. The book also
shows how to move from your agile models to
source code (Java examples are provided) as well
as how to succeed at implementation techniques
such as
refactoring and
test-driven development
(TDD). The Object Primer also includes a
chapter overviewing the critical database
development techniques (database refactoring,
object/relational mapping,
legacy analysis, and
database access coding) from my award-winning
Agile Database Techniques
book. |
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Agile Modeling: Effective Practices for Extreme
Programming and the Unified Process is the seminal
book describing how agile software developers approach
modeling and
documentation. It describes principles and
practices which you can tailor into your existing
software process, such as
XP, the
Rational Unified Process (RUP), or the
Agile Unified Process (AUP), to streamline your
modeling and documentation efforts. Modeling and
documentation are important aspects of any software
project, including agile projects, and this book
describes in detail how to
elicit requirements,
architect, and then
design your system in an agile manner. |
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The Elements of UML 2.0 Style describes a collection
of standards, conventions, and
guidelines
for creating effective
UML diagrams. They are based on sound, proven
software engineering principles that lead to diagrams
that are easier to understand and work with. These
conventions exist as a collection of simple, concise
guidelines that if applied consistently, represent an
important first step in increasing your productivity as
a modeler. This book is oriented towards
intermediate to advanced UML modelers, although there
are numerous examples throughout the book it would not
be a good way to learn the UML (instead, consider
The Object Primer). The book is a brief 188
pages long and is conveniently pocket-sized so it's easy
to carry around. |
I actively work with clients around the world to
improve their information technology (IT) practices as
both a mentor/coach and trainer. A full
description of what I do, and how to contact me, can be
found here.
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