The Importance of UML in Object-Oriented Software Project Development

This report provides a comprehensive overview of the Unified Modeling Language (UML) and its crucial role in object-oriented (OO) software projects. It begins by introducing UML as a standard language for specifying, visualizing, and documenting software systems, emphasizing its application beyond software development. The report highlights the advantages of using UML, such as code reusability, modularity, and flexibility, while also detailing the different types of UML diagrams. It explains how UML supports various phases of software development, from analysis to implementation, and its ability to transform OO software projects into visual diagrams. The report underscores the importance of UML in facilitating communication with stakeholders, and the benefits of using UML in developing object-oriented software projects including the generation of codes, diagrams, and impact analysis. The report concludes by emphasizing UML's strengths in object-oriented software methodology, its application in various stages of software development and its role in providing a better way of project development.

Running head: SYSTEMS ANALYSIS AND DESIGN
SYSTEMS ANALYSIS AND DESIGN
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Table of Contents
Introduction...........................................................................................................................................2
Advantage of using UML in Object oriented software projects.............................................................2
Conclusion.............................................................................................................................................6
Reference...............................................................................................................................................7

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Introduction
The report will discuss about the importance of UML in bringing the success towards OO
software projects today. Object oriented software engineering is a methodology and object modelling
language. Ivar Jacobson developed Object oriented software engineering in 1992 (Larman 2014).
UML is a standard language used for constructing, specifying, visualising and for documenting
artefacts associated with developing a software system. The system used can be a software or non-
software system. The report will describe the importance of using UML with object oriented software
projects in detail.
Advantage of using UML in Object oriented software projects
The main feature offered by object oriented software is encapsulation and inheritance.
Encapsulation ensures that the data and method that are wrapped up into one unit cannot be accessed
by outside world and inheritance ensures the reusability of codes. This includes deriving classes from
pre-existing classes and inheriting the features of pre-existing class. This ensures that no one can
affect the programmer’s attention. The main features offered are information hiding, dynamic binding,
data abstraction and inheritance (Cox 2016). The benefits of using object oriented software are it
offers reusability of code, naturalness, modularity and deferred commitment.
UML works with the aim of providing a syntactically, semantically rich visual modelling
language. UML is having application beyond the software development and this includes flow in
manufacturing. The main objective of UML is defining a simple modelling mechanism that will help
in modelling every type of practical system that are used in today’s complex environment. UML is not
a programing language but with the help off several tools this can be used for code generation in
different other languages with the help of UML diagrams. UML is having a relation with object
oriented analysis and design (Schroeder, Lorensen and Martin 2014). There are 9 types of UML
diagrams this are activity diagram, use case diagram, interaction overview diagram, state machine

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UML diagram, sequence UML diagram, class diagram, object diagram and component diagram. The
features offered by UML are as follows:
 UML language works differently as compared to common programming language. This
includes C++, COBOL, Java, etc.
 UML is basically a pictorial language that is used for making software blueprints.
For UML it becomes necessary to have a conceptual model. Conceptual model is a type of model
that is built using relationships and concepts. Conceptual model is a basis of UML model and helps to
recognise the objects used in the real world and the interaction between this entities. In order to work
with UML model it becomes necessary to prepare a conceptual model and proceed accordingly
(Larman 2014). There are three main components that are needed for conceptual model and this
elements includes UML building block, common mechanism of UML and rules to connect these
building blocks. UML is referred to as the successor of object oriented analysis and design. Object is
an entity that contains both methods and data and controls the activity of data. The data represents the
objects state. A real world system is built on hierarchical model with the use of class and under this
objects are defined. Hierarchy is defined with the use of inheritance and class. This features gets
associated with requirement. The objects have real life existence and can be used to perform basic
concepts with the help of UML, this includes encapsulation, polymorphism, abstraction and
inheritance (Karim et al. 2017).
The object oriented projects developed with the use of UML offers many benefits and an easy
way of developing a project. UML offers a standard notation for designing the software projects in
object oriented software. This design is familiar to everyone and easy to use. The object oriented
software projects developed by UML offers a variety of tool. This includes tools that allows
generation of codes, diagrams, performs impact analysis and also includes complexity analysis. Apart
from all these features, UML offers a flexible modelling elements that helps the object oriented
software projects. The models offered by UML while developing the object oriented software projects
are portable. The models developed for the object oriented software projects are saved with the use of
standard XMI format. These files can be read with the use of different UML tools. The architecture

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provided by the UML is very much beneficial for object oriented software projects. This allows
getting a perspective about availability, security, performance and also allows planning for
incremental development.
In the field of computer science there are several problem solving paradigms that are being
used, this includes imperative, functional, and declarative and object oriented language. In case of
object oriented language the algorithms are being expresses by defining objects and these objects
interact with each other (Morton and Odell 2014). In case of developing a software projects UML
model uses different aspects this includes static, dynamic and many more. Every diagram are
basically designed with the use of objects starting from class diagram, object diagram, interaction
diagram and collaboration diagram. Thus, this is essential to understand the relation between UML
and OO software projects. The OO software projects get transformed to UML diagrams based on the
requirements. The output of OO software projects is being used as input of UML diagrams. OMG is a
global, open membership, non for profit technology and stands for Object management group
(Dennis, Wixom and Tegarden 2015).
With the modelling concept stated by UML, developing an object oriented software projects
becomes easier. While developing a project, the UML offers three system models: functional, object
and dynamic. Functional are referred to the use case diagram that uses system functionality from a
user’s point of view (Rumbaugh et al. 2014). Object are the class diagrams that are used to define the
structure of system in terms of objects. Dynamic defines the internal behaviour of the system with the
help of interaction diagram, state machine diagram and activity diagram.
There are main three stages associated with each software project development, this includes:
analysis, design and implementation. Each stage involves using of UML diagrams differently. In the
analysis stage the information regarding the problem domain is collected and based on these a class
diagram is being prepared and observed from a theoretical viewpoint and thus it is called as the
conceptual class diagram. UML supports project development phases and is necessary to work with
the object oriented concept. It becomes necessary to transform the model that will be beneficial for
physical implementation. This helps in easy communication with the customers who are not so aware

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about the UML notations (Coad, Yourdon and Coad 2017). It becomes necessary to divide the objects
during the time of system development and this includes software objects that are used for
development of FINAL stages of IS. The models used in this projects should respect the codes
refactoring, code reusability and to maintain the connection between the codes. The conceptual
objects are used in the middle stage of development and at this stage the main focus is on
implementation. The objects within this follows the concept of object oriented paradigm. Finally the
last object known as business objects or essential objects and are used with the purpose of filling the
gaps between problem formulations. Classes are usually occupied with attributes and approaches and
also includes different types of relations that are used to represent overall system structure. Railway
system is an example of object Oriented software project that can be developed with the use of UML.
With the help of UML, the project can be done successfully.
Conclusion
The report has introduced Unified Modelling language with object oriented software projects.
The aim of UML is described in the report. The main objective is to develop a general purpose for
developing a modelling language. UML has implemented the strengths of object oriented software so
that they can develop a better way of methodology. The report has discussed the main features of an
object oriented software. The report has discussed the way UML is beneficial for developing object
oriented software projects. The features and role of UML in object oriented software are discussed in
the report.

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Reference
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Yourdon press.
Cox, B.J., 2016. Object-oriented programming: an evolutionary approach.
Dennis, A., Wixom, B.H. and Tegarden, D., 2015. Systems analysis and design: An object-oriented
approach with UML. John wiley & sons.
Eriksson, H.E. and Penker, M., 2014. Business modeling with UML. New York, pp.1-12.
Karim, S., Liawatimena, S., Trisetyarso, A., Abbas, B. S., & Suparta, W. (2017, November).
Automating functional and structural software size measurement based on XML structure of UML
sequence diagram. In Cybernetics and Computational Intelligence (CyberneticsCom), 2017 IEEE
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Larman, C., 2015. Applying UML and patterns: an introduction to object oriented analysis and design
and interative development. Pearson Education India.
Morton, J. and Odell, J.J., 2014. Object oriented analysis and design. Englewood Cliffs (New Jersey):
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Rumbaugh, J., Blaha, M., Premerlani, W., Eddy, F. and Lorensen, W.E., 2014. Object-oriented
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Schroeder, W.J., Lorensen, B. and Martin, K., 2014. The visualization toolkit: an object-oriented
approach to 3D graphics. Kitware.