Modeling can be defined as the act of representing something, usually on a smaller scale or with reduced detail. Using Enterprise Architect, modeling can be more specifically described as the act of graphically representing a business process or software system. A model thus created can be used to emphasize a certain aspect of the system being represented and record, document and communicate its detail. A study of such a model can enable insight or understanding of the system.
Enterprise Architect's modeling platform is based on the Unified Modeling Language (UML), a standard that defines rules and notations for specifying business and software systems. For information on UML, see The UML Language topic. For examples of the UML models that Enterprise Architect can help you build, see the Model Templates topic.
Using Enterprise Architect, you can quickly build a model using a hierarchy of packages to represent the structure and organization of the project. Each package can contain;
| · | Other packages |
| · | Diagrams that represent various aspects of the equipment, environment and business processes of the system |
| · | Elements that represent the objects and actions within the system or process. |
You build a diagram by arranging the elements in an organisation, the relationships between the elements being represented by UML connectors. Each type of diagram has a specific page in the Enterprise Architect UML Toolbox, which makes available the set of elements and connectors that are tailored to the purpose of that diagram type.
The Create a Project - Quick Start topic briefly shows you how to create a diagram within a package, containing elements and connectors. Sparx Systems also provide a demonstration of quickly developing a Use Case model; to run this demonstration, click here.
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