Developing Models for Software Design

Modeling diagrams help you understand, clarify, and communicate ideas about your code and the user requirements that your software system must support. For example, to describe and communicate user requirements, you can use Unified Modeling Language (UML) use case, activity, class, and sequence diagrams. To describe and communicate the functionality of your system, you can use UML component, class, activity, and sequence diagrams.

See Channel 9 Video: Improve architecture through modeling.

You can create the following UML diagrams in this release:

Diagram	Shows
UML Activity Diagrams: Reference	Flow of work between actions and participants in a business process
UML Component Diagrams: Reference	Components of a system, their interfaces, ports, and relationships
UML Class Diagrams: Reference	Types that are used to store and exchange data in the system and their relationships
UML Sequence Diagrams: Reference	Sequences of interactions between objects, components, systems, or actors
UML Use Case Diagrams: Reference	User goals and tasks that a system supports

To visualize the architecture of a system or existing code, create the following diagrams:

Diagram	Shows
Layer Diagrams: Reference	High-level architecture of the system
Dependency graphs Visualize Code Dependencies on Dependency Graphs	Dependencies and other relationships in existing code
Code-generated class diagrams How to: Create UML Class Diagrams from Code(C# only) Working with Class Diagrams (Class Designer)	Types and their relationships in .NET code
Code-generated sequence diagrams Visualize Code by Generating Sequence Diagrams	Sequences of method calls in .NET code

Common Tasks

Topic	Task
How to: Create UML Modeling Projects and Diagrams	Create models and add diagrams.
How to: Edit UML Models and Diagrams	Draw diagrams to edit the model.
How to: Import UML Model Elements from XMI Files	Import UML elements from sequence diagrams, class diagrams, and use case diagrams as XMI 2.1 files that are exported from other modeling tools.
Defining Packages and Namespaces	Create packages to divide a model into units that different team members can work on.
How to: Generate Code from UML Class Diagrams	Generate C# code from class diagrams to start your implementation.
Customizing Your Model with Profiles and Stereotypes	Customize model elements using stereotypes, to extend the standard UML model elements for specific purposes.
Link Model Elements and Work Items	Create links between model elements and work items to help you track tasks, test cases, bugs, requirements, issues, or other kinds of work that are associated with specific parts of your model.
Export Images of Diagrams	Save your model and diagrams so that you can share them with other users, including those who do not use Visual Studio Ultimate.

Related Tasks

Topic	Task
Visualizing and Understanding Code	Create dependency graphs, sequence diagrams, and layer diagrams to review and explore unfamiliar code.
Modeling User Requirements	Use models to clarify and communicate the users' needs.
Modeling the Architecture of a Software System	Use models to describe the overall structure and behavior of your system and to make sure that it meets the users' needs.
Validating Your System During Development	Make sure that your software stays consistent with your users' needs and the overall architecture of your system.
Using Models within the Development Process Use Models in Agile Development	Use models to help you understand and change your system during its development.
Structuring Modeling Solutions	Organize models in a large or medium project.

External Resources

Category	Links
Forums	Visual Studio Visualization & Modeling Tools Visual Studio Visualization & Modeling SDK (DSL Tools)
Blogs	Visual Studio ALM + Team Foundation Server Blog
Technical Articles and Journals	The Architecture Journal - Issue 23: Architecture Modeling and Processes
Other Sites	MSDN Architecture Center