The standard diagrammatic language for OOAD. See http://www.ibm.com/software/rational/uml/.

The UnifiedModelingLanguage represents the joint efforts of leading object technologists such as GradyBooch, IvarJacobson, JimRumbaugh (the ThreeAmigos), JamesOdell, and many others and represents one of the most significant advances in object technology in recent years.

The UnifiedModelingLanguage merges the best of the object notations used by the three most popular analysis and design methodologies (BoochMethod, OOSE, and the ObjectModellingTechnique) to produce a single, universal modeling language that can be used with any method.

-- DionHinchcliffe 

''I would have added the word "political" after the word significant. -- some guy''

''And I would note that it works with most design methods, but significantly, not with ResponsibilityDrivenDesign. -- AlistairCockburn''

''Why not?''

Because UML contains no notion of Responsibilities. Therefore, it can't be written, tracked, mapped, etc.

UML standards are managed by the ObjectManagementGroup.  See http://www.omg.org/uml/
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Tossing in a reference to Modeling Terminology and Taxonomy http://www.atl.external.lmco.com/rassp/taxon/modeling.html
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See also:
* ClassDiagram
* DateOnUml	
* IdealUmlCaseTool
* InstanceDiagram
* ModelDrivenArchitecture
* ObjectConstraintLanguage
* ObjectTechnologyUserGroup (OTUG)
* SingletonInUmlForJava
* StateDiagram
* TextAndGlyphsInTheUml
* UmlActionSemantics
* UmlAndBigDesign
* UmlBookList
* UmlCaseVultures
* UmlConsideredHarmful
* UmlDistilled
* UmlIsForPeople
* UmlIssuesWithQualifiedAssociation
* UmlSoftware
* UmlTotalFailure
* UmlTwo
* UmlAsciiArt
* ModernDinosaur

OK. I'm not sure whether this should sit here or not, but is anyone DoingUmlForRealTimeSafetyCriticalSystems?
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'''Resources'''

UML tutorials: http://www.parlezuml.com

Application guidelines: http://www.agilemodeling.com/style/

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'''Not universally wanted'''

In an interview I can't immediately find, WardCunningham says that UML only allows you to express the things that he finds uninteresting.

In another interview at http://www.artima.com/intv/extreme.html, Ward said "I love computer graphics, but every system I've seen to try to turn programming into pictures has lost that syntactic element. There's something about syntax that makes it very precise for reading." and "The programming language is a better language than the whiteboard for getting every valuable bit of my experience into a design."

See Klaus-Dieter Schewe: UML: A Modern Dinosaur? - A Critical Analysis of the Unified Modelling Language, http://citeseer.ist.psu.edu/386839.html

See UmlControversies, UnwantedModelingLanguage, BertrandMeyerAndHisOpinions 

See ObjectProcessMethodology as an alternative to UML. 
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CategoryUml CategoryVisualization