Effective communication between people is a very hard task, independent of the subject. When the information is imprecise and the languages are different, there is a lot of literal and figurative hand-waving and assumptions based on context. Many studies have shown that one of the major problems in software development is the difficulty that managers and developers have in communicating business needs and goals. The managers think in and speak manager-speak and the developers generally communicate in geek-speak. Since it is the responsibility of the managers to give the direction, it is reasonable to expect them to learn enough of the language of the developers to communicate the goals. The primary language of software development is now the Unified Modeling Language or UML.
UML is a large and complex language, but the fundamentals can be learned in a short time. The purpose of this book is to explain the basics of UML in a form that managers can understand. Presented in the style of a study of businesses, the words used are those of managers rather than developers. After reading the book, any manager will be much more effective in their ability to describe the purpose of the software that is to be built. However, developers with an interest in learning UML should look elsewhere.
Unclear and ambiguous software requirements cost the software industry billions of dollars every year. The one hundred pages of this book can help you substantially reduce your costs, provided you take the time and effort to understand the contents. In the new atmosphere of cost reductions, no manager of a software project can afford to ignore such a high level and rapid Return On Investment (ROI).
