The benefits of UML in the face of EAI
Sharon A. Allpress
Geographic Information Technology, Inc
101 Inverness Drive East
Suite 130
Englewood, Colorado 80112
The Unified Modeling Language (UML) is an important tool for modeling Enterprise
Application Integrations (EAI). The complex interaction among multiple applications,
such as GIS, outage management (OMS), workforce management, and customer
information systems, requires a tool to support many system development tasks. UML aids
in modeling the business processes, managing EAI requirements, providing test criteria,
and building end-user documentation. The applications that a GIS is required to interface
with are constantly increasing and the applications are not only linked within a company
but are also linked between companies. Traditionally, communication between the GIS
and other applications has been customized, one integration at a time. The result is a set of
complex and unique integration points with redundancy throughout the system. The EAI
approach uses a set of tools to share data and business processes among connected
applications and data stores within and, optionally, between organizations.
Though EAI provides a common communication interface between the systems, an EAI
implementation still consists of a complex web of systems, people and processes. As the
complexity of systems -- whether new or refurbished -- increases in scope and scale, so
does the importance of good modeling techniques. The UML meets the modeling needs of
such complex systems and thus has developed into a well-defined and widely accepted
modeling language.
The history of UML
The beginnings of documented object-oriented modeling languages can be traced back to
the mid-1970’s when methodologists were experimenting with different approaches to
object-oriented analysis and design. The number of identifiable object-oriented modeling
languages increased from less than 10 to more than 50 between 1989 and 1994 (OMG,
2001). In the mid-1990’s, the primary authors of the leading modeling languages (Booch,
OMT, and OOSE) realized that each of their models were evolving into very similar
models. In late 1995 Grady Booch, Jim Rumbaugh, and Ivar Jacobson, the primary authors
of the leading modeling languages, joined forces at Rational Software Corporation and
began collaborating on a unified modeling language. In early 1996 the authors released the
UML 0.9 and requested feedback from the general community. The feedback they
received was incorporated into the model and the authors then released the UML 0.91
document. During 1996 the Object Management Group (OMG) issued a Request for
Proposals for a definition of a modeling language standard, which proved to be a catalyst
for interested parties and organizations to join forces and provide a response. The UML Figure 1: History of the UML
Partners consortium, established by
Rational, provided a response to the RFP.
The consortium included the “three amigos”
(Booch, Rumbaugh, and Jacobson) and
organizations such as Digital Equipment
Corp., HP, IBM, MCI Systemhouse,
Microsoft, Oracle, Rational, TI, and Unisys.
The UML Partners focused on improving
the UML 0.91 architecture so that it met the
demands of all mainstream methods and
ensuring that it was general purpose in
nature. The UML Partners submitted their
initial UML proposal (UML 1.0) to the
OMG in January 1997 and the final
proposal to the OMG in September 1997,
which the OMG adopted as its object
modeling standard. The OMG and the
UML Partners consortium recognized that
the UML was an evolving language that
would need to be reviewed and evolved on a
continual basis. As shown in Figure 1, the
UML Partners have followed standard
software development practices by planning
and following a revision schedule for the
UML. In September 2001, the OMG
released a minor revision, UML 1.4. The
first major revision since UML was adopted
by the OMG in 1997 is scheduled for
release in late 2002.
Figure 1. History of the UML
