how to make pretty pictures for managers

[Jay Vaughan]

> Recently people were discussing UML.  I havnt really used it much,  
> so I dont really understand how to do it properly.
>

The more you do it, the better your understanding will be .. so try  
doing it for non-work related things.  The best way to get practice is  
remove the stress-factor.  Write a UML diagram for some other activity  
you perform on a regular basis .. like music-making, or editing  
sessions or some such thing.

> Essentially, I have the problem that I need to communicate with both  
> managers and a group of programmers in Germany.  In both cases, we  
> have a serious language barrier and I have found that drawing  
> pictures for them helps.
>

You are /really/ going to need to become a master at creating a  
dictionary for your projects.  UML is one side, diagrams for sure are  
needed - but a properly maintained project dictionary is essential.   
Start with a word list of all the common terms, and dig around.. fill  
out the edges.  If you produce a common dictionary, so everyone is on  
the same level, terms-wise, you will solve a lot of initial hassle.   
It is really important.  In fact, in many ways, its more important  
than diagrams.  Without dictionaries, we'd never get a damn thing done.

> Is UML the right tool for this?

Sure, but get a lot of practice with it first.  I wouldn't expect  
there to be a lot of success with it if you haven't practiced it..

> there has to be a proper standard way to draw up these process and  
> object diagarms that I could use that everyone could understand.  I  
> have had my own chicken scratch on graph paper methode I have used  
> for myself for years, but thats not going to work.
>

You gotta practice this for other people.

> *sigh*..oh for the days I worked alone..


I've spent the last 2 weeks writing a 35-page paper for my team, which  
I'll present tomorrow for comments and review, before I start writing  
code next week.  I hated the first few days of it, but now I'm totally  
happy with the work, because I know I'll get lots of feedback and  
it'll be a positive time, and more to the point: the coding is going  
to be /fun/, having a full-blown well-designed road map.  The more you  
do it, the easier it gets.  If you haven't done much, its going to be  
difficult: at first.  But, trust me, writing docs for others to  
comprehend is awesome .. especially when they're non-native English  
speakers, and I get to use all sorts of terms in English that will  
need to be explained.  Surprising what you can learn about yourself  
when you have a multiple-language scenario to deal with.

(PS: be thankful you don't have to write in German!!)

;
--
Jay Vaughan