© Jennifer M. Kohnke Sequence diagrams are the most common of the dynamic models drawn by UML users. As you might expect, UML provides lots and lots of goodies to help you draw truly incomprehensible diagrams. In this chapter, we describe those goodies and try to convince you to use them with great restraint. I once consulted for a team that had decided to create sequence diagrams for every method of every class. Please don't do this; it's a terrible waste of time. Use sequence diagrams when you have an immediate need to explain to someone how a group of objects collaborate or when you want to visualize that collaboration for yourself. Use them as a tool that you use occasionally to hone your analytical skills rather than as necessary documentation. |