The book makes a strong case for the advantages of modeling businesses in UML. With models, an organization can provide better software, define and implement new goals, and even decide whether to outsource certain operations. The Erickson-Penker Business Extensions for UML, invented by the authors and presented within the text, permit UML to document the entire business enterprise. This book shows how to model businesses, from business architecture to processes, business rules, and goals. Short case studies--for Web-centric and more traditional companies--are used to illustrate key concepts here.

Later sections of the book will perhaps take a little more background in software engineering to appreciate fully as the book presents a handful of business patterns, which offer reusable solutions to common problems (just like software patterns). The authors also look at how to leverage a business model to create better software.

In engineering, a new car is modeled and thoroughly tested on a computer before any physical prototype is ever built. As the authors point out, a business that has accurate models can test out new ideas cheaply and then adapt to changing market conditions quickly. This title makes a case that UML--a tool traditionally used by software developers--is ready to tackle the job. Read this notably informative and intelligent book to see the possible benefits of business modeling in UML for your organization. --Richard Dragan

Topics covered: Business modeling basics, UML notation and Erickson-Penker Business Extensions, class diagrams and powertypes, object diagrams, statecharts, activity diagrams and swimlanes, sequence and collaboration diagrams, collaboration and use case diagrams, component and deployment diagrams, stereotypes, business architectures, business processes, resources, goals, business rules, Object Constraint Language (OCL) and collections, business views and patterns, business goal allocation, business goal decomposition, business goal-problem, and software architectures

The authors detail the dozen or so diagrams available in UML, which feature use-case modeling, class diagrams, dynamic models (including state diagrams), and physical models (which outline the components inside your system and how they will be deployed). They also discuss extensions to UML (through "stereotypes") and document how well UML is actually implemented in today's computer-aided software engineering (CASE) tools. The book includes sample implementations of modeling diagrams, written in Java, for most chapters, and the accompanying CD-ROM contains a trial version of the CASE tool Rational Rose.

In addition to outlining the essentials of modeling techniques, the authors do a good job of placing UML in context with other models. They provide a short tour of the software engineering process and tell users who are familiar with the Booch and Rational Objectory methods how to move over to UML. This section compares the diagramming symbols used in each method and discusses patterns--a hot topic in object-oriented design--and how they can be modeled using UML.

The book closes with a useful (though brief) case study of a computer system for a small library, which gives the reader a flavor of how to use UML in the field. With enough depth for the expert and enough simplicity for the novice, UML Toolkit serves as a fine one-volume introduction to the brave new world of UML.

With the help of numerous examples and an extensive case study, this book teaches you how to: <ul> <li>Organize, describe, assess, test, and realize use cases <li>Gain substantial information about a system by using classes <li>Utilize activity diagrams, state machines, and interaction diagrams to handle common issues <li>Extend UML features for specific environment or domains <li>Use UML as part of a Model Driven Architecture initiative <li>Apply an effective process for using UML

The CD-ROM contains all of the UML models and Java<sup><small>TM code for a complete application, Java<sup><small>TM 2 Platform, Standard Edition, Version 1.4.1, and links to the Web sites for vendors of UML 2 tools.