UML and the concept

•Unified: The result of unifying three leading approaches to system modeling in the 1990s
•Modeling: Concerned with the simplified representation of system structure and behavior
•Language: A language, not a methodology
The UML is neither a methodology (waterfall, UP) nor a programming language (C++, C#). It is a modeling language that provides a language-independent, tool-supported, well-documented standard for modeling systems.

There are few misconceptions about UML that I have found in my working life.

Some people take it so lightly that they think UML is so easy thing that one can do all the diagrams in a day (modeling a complete system in a day!!). Well, drawing is easy but it all depends on your concept that how you are modeling it. For an example, drawing a use case is a peace of cake, but you have to first identify a proper use case or putting few classes and connecting them is easy but the important thing is to identify classes. So you have to have complete sense of the system in concern.

Some other people take it so heavily that the think you have to do all the diagrams to model every aspect of system behavior all the time as part of a complex, cumbersome approach. This is not true. Simply make intelligent choices about what works for you. The UML is designed to serve you, not the other way around.

I have found following diagrams most usefull for any project;
•Use Case Diagram (behavior)
•Activity Diagram (behavior)
•Class Diagram (structure)
•Sequence Diagram (behavior)

In my next publish i will be discussing about the benefits of these diagram.