UML With Style

[Jeff Odell]

I'm looking for advise from the EA community on how to put our best foot forward using EA diagrams in presentations.

I've had the good fortune to be able to coordinate a large project with EA - including extensive use of Use Case, Data, Class, Component, Deployment Models, etc. with a group of 12-15.  If has been a great experience.

I've got several architecture and design presentations to do over the next couple months.  The work we've done in EA will be utilized to present the project to a lot of people inside and outside our company.

I'm in the .Net world, and frankly I would like to make sure my company makes further use of EA.  The "first impression" they will get from these presentations will go a long way.

So... while I know the real value is in the content of the models, I'm looking for a way to really make the diagrams "pop".  In these days of gradient fills and high resolution monitors, the stock UML diagrams from EA are looking a little pedestrian.

I've fooled with the styles without coming up with anything too good looking.  Also, the formatting is difficult to apply and disjointed across different features: the Style toolbar, the Adjust Appearance and Set Font menus, etc.  The Select Alternate Image feature doesn't work as it obscures the Attribute and Operation information.

So - how do we get some sizzle in the diagrams to go with the juicy steak that is EA?  Ideas?

TIA -

Jeff Odell

[thomaskilian]

Actually I never have thought of EA being some kind of Powerpoint or Visio replacement. Presenting data for management I usually take PPT (or something alike) to fokus on some keywords. With the stakeholders I prefer a whiteboard where we can sketch things and have a common sense. This is usually not possible with us sitting around a small monitor. I want EA to support me in a) bringing the captured data into the model so it's saved and b) let me do architectural work alone or in a team. Both tasks are fulfilled at a very high percentage and I want to have that even better. So actually, I would NOT like to have more fancy drawing capabilities. Sorry for that answer :-/

[Jeff Odell]

I didn't articulate my request well.  I'm not looking for EA to replace PowerPoint or add drawing tools. What I am looking for is:

1) Ideas to dress up my UML diagrams for presentation, whether within EA or outside; and

2) a more consistent and capable way for the final diagrams to look better, now or in future releases.

While I use EA for all the things you mentioned and more - transformations, code generation, database scripting, etc, I still would like to be able to cut and paste a diagram into Word or Excel and have it look nicer.  I know it is just window dressing - but that has an effect.

For example, I'll be presenting at Microsoft next month.  I'll get asked if I'm using Microsoft's Team Foundation for certain tasks.  I'll answer no - I have a much better, more capable UML compliant tool that does everything I need and more.  However, some people will only see the output of the Microsoft class designer:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/en-us/dv_vstechart/html/ClssDsgnr-fig01big.gif

and compare it to the output of EA's:

http://www.sparxsystems.com.au/images/ea_screenshots/screenshot_code_window.jpg

They will naturally be attracted to the eye candy.  I'm looking for ways to make sure they are attracted to the EA solution.

[thomaskilian]

I see what you mean, but probably there's not much more than copy/paste a diagram to Word or what else. All this rounded corner/color flow can't be done with EA easily. You can make use of shape scripting in some respect, but I guess this will not really help on in what you want to do. So the only thing that's left are sterotyped/alternate images. The latter can e.g. be used to place a logo or a fancy background: just place a frame on the diagram and select an alternaterate image from the context menu. Also you can use various plaint coloring. If someone decides for eye candy he'll deserve it

[mikewhit]

Sparx isn't doing itself any favours by saving the screenshot as JPEG rather than PNG, which to my mind always produces a better image since it compresses the areas of colour without losing detail.

But to be fair, both "your" example images should really be showing the same class - the Microsoft class is much simpler than the EA one, so it's easier for it to look less cluttered.

The Microsoft diagrams also look much less like the ones in my UML book, than the EA ones.

[Paolo F Cantoni]

You can ask your viewers, how pretty do you want the wrong answer?

It took me about 52 secs to discover a serious bug in the Microsoft product making it useless (pointless) to investigate further.

I'm reminded of one of the first advertisements for Apple Macs.

Two half page spreads... Glossy Apple Mac report on the left, "clunky" PC report on the right.  The ad asks which would you prefer?

Unfortunately if you looked closely at the Mac report, the numbers didn't add up!

I've already suggested to Sparx over a year ago that their formatting and styling should be more consistent and flexible.

Keep stressing the steak and not the sizzle.  The sizzle will come (we hope) but the steak's here now...

Paolo

[Jeff Odell]

Thanks for all the feedback.  I'm no fan of the MS product and don't use it - I only present it to compare the quality of the graphics.  And I agree with all the reasons for using EA instead and have introduced it into 3 large companies that do .Net development.

I did work through the color and font settings and came up with a pretty decent looking set that, when copied and pasted into a Word or PowerPoint, creates a pretty nice diagram for my purposes.

I wanted to copy the color settings from my home laptop to my work machine.  I looked through the EA directories, Local Settings and the registry and could not find where the Standard Colors from the Tools... Options... dialog (Title bar "Local Options") are saved.  Does anyone know?

Back to my T-Bone  

[«Midnight»]

Don't know for sure Jeff, but colour settings for such things as stereotypes etc. are a component of reference data. Take a look at the Tools / Export (Import) Reference Data dialog. Once you start the Export (Import) process you will be offered a list of the components. See if one of these handles the local colours etc.

David

[sargasso]

You could start by pointing out that a rounded rectangle is NOT the UML standard for a class element.

You could then explain what the standard scope and visibility symbols are.

You could then ask them

how pretty do you want the wrong answer

in a manner that another or later reader will have no chance of comprehending.

bruce

[Jeff Odell]

Don't know for sure Jeff, but colour settings for such things as stereotypes etc. are a component of reference data. Take a look at the Tools / Export (Import) Reference Data dialog. Once you start the Export (Import) process you will be offered a list of the components. See if one of these handles the local colours etc.

David

I think the Local Options persist across models, where the Import/Export is within a model.  I had looked there although I failed to mention it.

Thanks for the idea - I fired off a message to EA to see what they could tell me.

jlo

[Jeff Odell]

Sparx support was kind enough to provide me with registry information regarding Local Options.  Here are a couple useful excepts from our emails:

The "Local Options" are stored both within the registry under "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Sparx Systems\EA400\EA" (with the majority of these within "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Sparx
Systems\EA400\EA\OPTIONS") and in the model.

The easiest way to determine whether an option is stored within a model is to start EA (without opening a model) and then "Tools | Options". If an option is greyed out then it's being stored within the model.

Color Keys:

Paper: - PAGECLR
Element Fill: - FILLCLR
Element Line: - LINECLR
Shadow: - SHADOWCLR
Attribute: - ATTCLR
Method: - OPCLR
Note Color: - NOTECLR
Screen: - SCRCLR
Connector Line: - CONNLINECLR
Behavior: - BEHAVIOURCLR

Hope this helps anyone wanting to transfer Local Settings from one machine to another.

jlo

[mikewhit]

Time for an "Import/Export settings" addin ...?


I like the way in "Behavior: - BEHAVIOURCLR" both American and English spellings are used !

[Paolo F Cantoni]

Time for an "Import/Export settings" addin ...?


I like the way in "Behavior: - BEHAVIOURCLR" both American and English spellings are used !

As Oscar Wilde said: "Two countries separated by a common language..."  

Paolo