IMAT5205 - UML: Ensuring Success in Object Oriented Software Projects

This essay explores the significance of Unified Modeling Language (UML) in ensuring the success of object-oriented (OO) software projects. It highlights that UML serves as a powerful tool for representing concepts in object-oriented analysis and design, emphasizing its role in controlling data through objects containing both data and methods. The essay details how UML diagrams aid in visualizing project implementation, facilitating communication among developers, and providing a common language for identifying project needs. It further elaborates on the use of different UML diagrams, such as use case, activity, class, sequence, collaboration, component, and deployment diagrams, across various phases of the software development lifecycle, from analysis to implementation. Ultimately, the essay concludes that UML is a crucial factor in the successful implementation of object-oriented software projects due to its ability to provide visual pathways and aid in easier communication among project developers.

Running head: INFORMATION SYSTEM
Information System
Name of Student
Name of University
Author Note

1
INFORMATION SYSTEM
Table of Contents
1. Introduction......................................................................................................................2
2. UML: Unified Modeling Language.................................................................................2
3. Importance of UML in Object Oriented software Projects.............................................3
Conclusion...........................................................................................................................5
References............................................................................................................................7

2
INFORMATION SYSTEM
1. Introduction
The aim of this article is to discuss the importance of UML for success of OO software
projects. In this context, the importance of UML is needed to be evaluated. UML is important
mainly because an object contains both data and methods that help in appropriate control of data.
UML is powerful tool to represent the different concepts that exist in object oriented analysis and
design (Rumbaugh, Booch and Jacobson 2017). Thus UML play a significant role in ensuring
success in software projects. The detailed overview of the use of UML in successful
implementation of a software project is discussed in the report. Although UML is not specifically
be called as a programming language, it is associated with certain tools which are used for code
generation in different language, by making use of UML diagrams (Gebhardt 2017). Thus, UML
diagrams play a significantly important role in successful completion of a project. The concept of
UML and their importance in OO projects are represented in the following sections.
2. UML: Unified Modeling Language
The unified modeling language was originally created for a semantically rich visual
modeling language, which can be used for designing the architecture of a software system. UML
has application apart from the software development that includes process flow in manufacturing
(Viswanathan and Samuel 2016). The use of UML diagrams helps in describing the boundaries, ,
behavior and structure of the system along with the objects in the system. Therefore, it can be
said that UML although is not a language used for programming, but it can help in generation of
codes in many different languages.
It is found out that UML has a direct relationship with the object oriented analysis and
design (Fenton and Bieman 2014). It plays a significant role in object oriented modeling and

3
INFORMATION SYSTEM
design. It has been observed that object oriented languages have a dominance on the
programming world mainly because with the help of OO, real world objects can be modeled.
UML as a whole is mixture of a number of object oriented notations that encompasses the object
oriented design, object modeling technique and object oriented software engineering (Völter et
al. 2013). Unified Modeling language can be described as a standardized modeling language.
UML therefore incorporates an integrated diagram set that can be used by the software
developers for specifying and visualizing the various artifacts associated with software
development. This is one of the most significant reasons behind the use of UML in object
oriented programming.
3. Importance of UML in Object Oriented software Projects
UML is considered to be very important for development of software projects and object
oriented software (Fuggetta and Di Nitto 2014). UML make use of most graphical notations that
expresses the software project designing. Thus, the use of UML helps in providing an
appropriate visualization to the software projects (Zur Muehlen and Recker 2013). Unified
Modeling Language and UML diagrams therefore play a vital role in software development.
The UML diagram is mainly generated to let the developers and the customers have a
detailed view of a system from a number of perspective. The UML diagram incorporates a
number of visual modules that a software developer makes use of, while implementation of the
project. In the analysis phase of project implementation, use case diagram, which is one type of
UML diagram, is prepared (Abrahamsson et al. 2017). The use case diagram helps in displaying
the relationship among the users and the use cases that help sin appropriate project
implementation (Reggio et al. 2014). Along with use case diagram, activity diagram is

4
INFORMATION SYSTEM
developed. Activity diagram is a part of UML diagram that is used for displaying a special state
diagram. Development of this state diagram is important as it provides an idea of the important
transitions that are triggered by completion of actions associated with the software that is to be
developed. Activity diagram has a focus on the flows that are driven by internal processing and
therefore, it is an essential component of a software project. The activity diagram and the use
case diagram find its usage in the analysis phase of project life cycle.
In the design phase of software implementation, UML diagrams play significant role as
well. The UML diagrams that are used in the analysis phase include class diagram, sequence
diagram and collaboration diagram (Mall 2018). The sequence diagram is an important UML
diagram as it is used for displaying the time sequence of the objects that are used for
participating the interaction. Apart from this, collaboration diagram play a significant role in
successful implementation of OO software projects as well. This is because the diagram of
collaboration displays an interaction of the objects associated with a project. Therefore, it is an
important aspect of software development projects.
The use of UML has a number of usages in implementation phase as well. The UML
diagrams that are used in the implementation stage of the project include the component diagram
and the deployment diagram. The component diagram generally displays a high level packaged
structure of the code associated with the coding and deployment of the software. This helps in
identification of the appropriate pathways for project implementation.
Therefore, it can be concluded that UML has a number of advantages in development and
implementation of OO software projects. It provides a significant pathway for development and
implementation of a software project and program. It is essential to follow a planned approach in

5
INFORMATION SYSTEM
software development projects because this type of project has structural complexities. UML
diagram provides a pathway for appropriate implementation of an object oriented project by
providing visual diagrams and pathways. The use of UML in success of software projects is
therefore quite important. The article analyses the use of UML in different phases of project life
cycle.
UML is a diagramming standard that is mainly designed to aid the designing processes.
As it is said that one picture is of of a 1000 words, UML helps the software developers in
visualizing the tiny details associated with the implementation of a project. UML provides a
common picture language that helps in easier identification of the project needs (Swain, Panthi
and Behera 2013). UML therefore, greatly facilitates the object oriented and architecture centric
design and therefore, it has a significant use in implementation of project. One of the most
significant advantages of UML diagrams is that it can be used at all levels of design.
UML diagrams further helps in designing the interfaces. Interfaces are diagrammed as
classes that help in easier visualization of the requirements of the project. The use of UML is
indeed beneficial for the success of OO software projects (Rumpe 2014). Furthermore, UML is
powerful enough for representing the object oriented concepts associated with software projects.
Thus, the use of UML diagrams helps in easier communication among the developers and is
mostly used by most of the software developers.
Conclusion
The article discusses the use of UML diagrams for success of object oriented software
projects. Use of UML in software projects is quite common. UML is a tool that helps in
visualizing the implementation approach and procedure of the project. UML is therefore

6
INFORMATION SYSTEM
considered as one of the significnat success factors for implementation of object oriented
software projects. The article gives an overview of the concept and the need of UML for
implementation of OO software projects. One of the major advantages of making use of UML is
that it helps in easier communication with the developers of the project. Unified Modeling
Language is a non-proprietary specification language that helps in object modeling. UML makes
use of standardized graphical notation, which helps in creation of an abstract model of the
system. Thus, it can be said that UML is important for ensuring success of object oriented
software projects.

7
INFORMATION SYSTEM
References
Abrahamsson, P., Salo, O., Ronkainen, J. and Warsta, J., 2017. Agile software development
methods: Review and analysis. arXiv preprint arXiv:1709.08439.
Fenton, N. and Bieman, J., 2014. Software metrics: a rigorous and practical approach. CRC
press.
Fuggetta, A. and Di Nitto, E., 2014, May. Software process. In Proceedings of the on Future of
Software Engineering (pp. 1-12). ACM.
Gebhardt, K.F., 2017. Unified Modeling Language.
Mall, R., 2018. Fundamentals of software engineering. PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd..
Reggio, G., Leotta, M., Ricca, F. and Clerissi, D., 2014, January. What are the used UML
diagram constructs? A document and tool analysis study covering activity and use case diagrams.
In International Conference on Model-Driven Engineering and Software Development (pp. 66-
83). Springer, Cham.
Rumbaugh, J., Booch, G. and Jacobson, I., 2017. The unified modeling language reference
manual. Addison Wesley.
Rumpe, B., 2014. Executable Modeling with UML. A Vision or a Nightmare?. arXiv preprint
arXiv:1409.6597.
Swain, R.K., Panthi, V. and Behera, P.K., 2013. Generation of test cases using activity
diagram. International journal of computer science and informatics, 3(2), pp.1-10.

8
INFORMATION SYSTEM
Viswanathan, S.E. and Samuel, P., 2016. Automatic code generation using unified modeling
language activity and sequence models. IET Software, 10(6), pp.164-172.
Völter, M., Stahl, T., Bettin, J., Haase, A. and Helsen, S., 2013. Model-driven software
development: technology, engineering, management. John Wiley & Sons.
Zur Muehlen, M. and Recker, J., 2013. How much language is enough? Theoretical and practical
use of the business process modeling notation. In Seminal Contributions to Information Systems
Engineering (pp. 429-443). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg.