ACM Queue often has very insightful articles, and this one is no exception. The article ACM Queue – Death by UML Fever – Are you (or your developers) sick? covers a major problem in software development in a somewhat humorous fashion. I’ve seen several variations of this problem, but I never thought of it as an illness.
For those who are appalled at the article and who consider the author to be a heretic, you might to step over to another article in the same issue. In ACM Queue – The Fever is Real –, Grady Booch comments on the UML Fever, both the article and the affliction.
Another good piece of commentary on the subject is java.net: Death by UML-more [April 23, 2004].
The most important thing to take away from all of these articles is that UML is a tool (or a set of tools), not a life style, not a religion, and certainly not a solution to all problems everywhere. I’ll be glad when more people use the tool was it was intended, instead of using in yet another round of holy wars.