Review By: Jessica McLaughlin
07/11/2005"UML for Mere Mortals" by Robert A. Maksimchuk and Eric J. Naiburg is a well organized book intended to introduce technical and non-technical project members to the use of Unified Model Language, the standard visual modeling language for software applications and architectures. This book ably presents the essentials of UML by describing the different model types and their applicable diagrams.

As clearly stated in the introduction, one of the book's goals is to make UML accessible for all project stakeholders. I believe the authors surpass this goal. They provide numerous examples throughout the book that illustrate how different stakeholders can use UML.

The book is organized by the activity the user performs rather than by diagram type. Since this mimics the way we work, it makes the book much easier to follow than other books on the subject. There are also many examples of real life experiences that demonstrate how UML can be applied. Each chapter ends with excellent review questions, terms, and summaries. This is especially helpful for those training others on UML.

There is an entire chapter devoted to testers, of which one section demonstrates how a tester can read UML diagrams to find performance issues early in development. Finding those issues before coding begins is invaluable. Another helpful section of the book is the UML diagrams and elements appendix.

The chapter titled "Watch Out" discusses the pitfalls people encounter when implementing UML. My favorite is the discussion of "analysis paralysis," which happens when participants spend too much time analyzing thus reducing productivity.

I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in learning UML, even for beginners and more advanced users who wish to review and read what is in store for the future of UML.

For those working with UML, this book is an absolute necessity. Not only is it filled with great examples, it is simple enough to understand—from the novice to the advanced. I believe those who are not currently using UML will find this book comprehensible enough to implement it in future projects.