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Author Topic: Need an argument in favor of EA over Visio  (Read 6636 times)

mhdhallak

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Need an argument in favor of EA over Visio
« on: June 13, 2006, 07:19:24 am »
Hi guys

I will soon conduct a demo on EA in my company for fellow developers and analysts. Since our company is Microsoft-oriented, everybody's just used to using Visio for all diagramming needs, including UML. So inevitablly I'm going to be asked to describe the advantages of EA over Visio and why is it worth the learning curve and licensing cost.

I know there are many things in which EA far exceeds Visio but I need to forumulate and articulate these things so they'll sound convincing and everything.

Any pointers?

Thanks!
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Thanks

AL

thomaskilian

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Re: Need an argument in favor of EA over Visio
« Reply #1 on: June 13, 2006, 08:13:38 am »
What about that text and the links therein?
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Dave_Bullet

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Re: Need an argument in favor of EA over Visio
« Reply #2 on: June 13, 2006, 07:07:27 pm »
Some hints.....

I usually find the infrastructure and data people are the hardest to win over since "UML is an application and applications only thing"

Therefore - do a demo....
Show them an infrastructure diagram.
Show them alternate images (a HUGE thing for infrastructure people).
Show them that they can re-use their elements across multiple view.  Changing the text in one changes all views etc...
Explain that Visio may be prettier, but is very difficult to install a re-use database
Explain the code generation / re-engineering is hard (impossible with Visio)?

The above should be enough.  Here is the full set of things I sold EA on at our company....

- The EA UI and window customisation
- UML modeling
- Requirements management
- Test design and management
- Relationship matrices & insert related elements
- Customisation via stereotypes and extra metadata
- Multi-user, version control and security
- Interoperability - Queryable DB (read and update), XMI compatibility and CSV import / export
- Model driven architecture support across DDL, Java, VB.NET, C#.NET, EJB, XSD, WSDL - including round trip engineering for these languages plus Delphi and others and reverse engineer of .NET and Java binaries
- Custom symbology
- Project tasks and issues management including terms glossary
- Ability to show iterations of an architecture (roadmaps)
... even a spelling checker!

Cheers,
Dave.
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Paolo F Cantoni

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Re: Need an argument in favor of EA over Visio
« Reply #3 on: June 13, 2006, 07:31:25 pm »
And don't forget, because it is Repository based, you can always get at the stored data and metadata via the database!

This means that you are NOT limited to the internal API of the tool - which is pretty good anyway...

Paolo
« Last Edit: June 13, 2006, 07:31:47 pm by PaoloFCantoni »
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Dave_Bullet

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Re: Need an argument in favor of EA over Visio
« Reply #4 on: June 13, 2006, 07:39:19 pm »
For example, I've create a SQL server view to expose tables and attributes for one of our datamodels in an MS Access database so traditional dictionary users can work with the data and update it to.

Groovy stuff!

BTW - Visio XMI export is rubbish so don't let anyone tell you "the 2 can live in harmony".
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Paolo F Cantoni

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Re: Need an argument in favor of EA over Visio
« Reply #5 on: June 13, 2006, 07:58:54 pm »
Quote
For example, I've create a SQL server view to expose tables and attributes for one of our datamodels in an MS Access database so traditional dictionary users can work with the data and update it to.

Groovy stuff!

BTW - Visio XMI export is rubbish so don't let anyone tell you "the 2 can live in harmony".
XMI export from most products (including EA) is suspect - Visio is just among the worst...

Paolo
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alesliehughes

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Re: Need an argument in favor of EA over Visio
« Reply #6 on: June 13, 2006, 10:07:16 pm »
Since you are MS oriented. I would also include a Demo of MDG Integration (VS2005) or MDG link (VS2003).  To show how developers, for example, dont have to leave their VS environment to access the model.  

Built in EA Forums which can be access from EA and within VS2005 (via MDG Integration).

Check Phil Boyd of OMNEXT Comment out.
http://www.sparxsystems.com.au/testimonials.html

Alistair
« Last Edit: June 13, 2006, 10:29:19 pm by alesliehughes »
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JohnWSaundersIII

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Re: Need an argument in favor of EA over Visio
« Reply #7 on: June 19, 2006, 02:56:46 pm »
I would simply remind them that Visio is no longer Microsoft's strategic software modelling tool. It is obsolete and the Visio UML solution will not be upgraded to UML 2.0.

Visio is dead. Long live EA.

John
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StefanPears

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Re: Need an argument in favor of EA over Visio
« Reply #8 on: June 20, 2006, 07:00:43 am »
not to mention UML2.1, which is released some weeks ago.
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