I 🧡 draw.io – Three ways to improve your UML diagrams

By |2022-10-20T16:45:12+02:00October 19th, 2022|Atlassian, draw.io, learning|
Reading Time: 15 min

This blog is part of our I 🧡 draw.io series, where our loyal band of users gets to tell us why they love draw.io. Follow us on social media to learn more about draw.io and hopefully pick up some tips and tricks.

(Want to skip right across to try the app? Get started now with draw.io on the Atlassian Marketplace).

UML or Unified Modelling language, was designed from the outset to avoid confusion and standardize diagramming for businesses across a huge spectrum of use cases. UML is more than just one diagram type. It’s a suite of many diagrams, each one tailored to suit or provide information to specific stakeholders in a project.

UML

draw.io was designed from the outset to make diagramming easier, and UML is no exception.

Dominico Klawitter appreciates the power draw.io can bring to UML diagramming. He commented, “Love this tool….makes Use Case, UML or BPMN diagrams no effort at all with a perfect integration into confluence and Jira available”

But Dominico is not alone; Siddharth Kumar also commented, “draw.io needs no review, whoever has used it already knows that this is the best online tool for creating all sorts of design/architecture/UML diagrams including complex flow charts”

To Dominico and Siddharth, we agree that Universal Modelling Language is a pretty wide-ranging set of diagrams, requiring a wide-ranging diagramming tool to cover all the bases.

UML’s strength is that it is not tied to any specific programming language or business process, so the ideas and strategies presented using UML can be applied to any project. And this explains why UML offers so many different types of diagrams. A project may have many stakeholders, each requiring a different view or take. So UML allows the creation of many diagrams that can all reference the same project.

And as Dominico and Siddharth have already stated, draw.io has UML completely covered with multiple use cases and templates to get you and your team up and running quickly regardless of the diagram.

So with all of the above in mind, here are The three top tips to help improve your UML diagrams inside Confluence:

Targeting, know your audience

There are many different levels of complexity. Senior management may only require an overall view of a project, and too much detail is unnecessary and confusing. On the other hand, coders or developers who work at the coalface need much more fine detail.

Notes and UML
Flow diagrams

Stakeholders

As mentioned, software development will have many stakeholders requiring a variety of UML diagrams. However, try to keep a standard notation or theme across your diagrams, helping other teams quickly recognize ideas and info when looking at other departments’ diagrams on a joint project.

Flow diagrams
Sequence diagram

Elegance and Flow

Avoid long names, abbreviations, and descriptions. Good relation names make sense when you read them out loud. Keep the diagram notations clear and straightforward. Also, Notes are your friend. Use as required. Use line jumps whenever two or more connecting lines need to cross. Nothing is more frustrating than trying to second-guess when lines intersect in a diagram. Is it a join or a jump?

UML swim
Poor diagram

Get to know draw.io

Keen to learn more? Visit our YouTube Channel for a constantly updated playlist of how-to videos. Check out our one-stop tutorial shop to pick up all the ins and outs of draw.io diagramming. Or book a free no-obligation demo to learn more about how draw.io can make life easier and more productive for you and everyone in (and outside) your company!

Happy diagramming!

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About the Author:

Bastian has an extensive Atlassian background and has worked for years in Atlassian license sales. Since 2019 he has been Product Marketing Manager of the draw.io Diagrams for Confluence / Jira apps. He is passionate about finding use cases to add value to the broad user base of draw.io.