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In my previous job, I was tasked with developing a software quality
management system for our software engineering group, which included
documenting the programmer's software design methodology among other things.
You can just imagine how popular I was. (BTW, we used TickIT as the basis of
the system, which I believe is a component of the UK ISO 9000 system.) The
developers resisted adopting any formal design methods until they were
introduced to UML by a new programmer. The graphical/visual nature of the
design diagrams really appealed to them.
>From a writing perspective, the diagrams--and the discussion that went on
while they were being created--were really useful for task analysis. When
changes were made to the software later, it was easy to locate the other
modules that might be affected using the object model diagrams (enabling me
to locate where changes were needed in the docs quickly). Just drawing out
the design of the software before coding it seemed to result in a more
stable design--fewer last minute changes! (A good requirements
analysis--formal or informal--helps that too. So does working with talented
programmers.)
I no longer work in a UML design environment. As a result of learning UML,
however, I still tend to view software in terms of objects and their
relationships to one another. It has improved my communication with
developers tremendously, who are always impressed with my analysis of their
work. As a writer, I'm able to translate the objects view into real-world
terms and write manuals that flow logically for users. I took a 3-day course
on UML, so I don't have a specific book to recommend. When it comes to
programming methodologies, I've always been impressed with the books from
Dorset House Publishing -- http://www.dorsethouse.com -- and certain authors
from Microsoft Press (like Steve McConnell). I have no affiliation
whatsoever with either. My advice is "go for it"!
Cheers
Elizabeth
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Elizabeth Boulet e-mail: EBoulet -at- WebMD -dot- net
ULTIA Help phone: 386-462-2148 x396
Medical Manager R&D http://www.medicalmanager.com
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