I personally use NetBeans Editor a lot, so i use NetBeans UML plugin . It has got very cool features like Reverse engineering, Design patterns documentation, applying design patterns, etc., Even though it is in its early phase, i would still love to continue with this tool whilst my project mates still use Rational Rose :)

I use UMLet.

I used to be a huge fan of TogetherJ (although that was a long time ago!). These days I've got to admit that I do most my UML in Visio (with mixed success).

I find that my target audience usually has limited UML experience (whatever their discipline) and so, in keeping with its lingua franca intent, anything other than basic UML is often counterproductive.

Well, I am fond of modeling so I have tried and used a lot of UML tools by now:

• Together Soft which was great for forward and reverse engineering of the models directly in the code
• Rational Rose which was great for sharing distributed models
• MS Visio which is great for beatifull stencils and allows sharing models with other office users
• Poseidon which was great and first exporting models into XMI
• Magic Draw, which I am fond of as it does nearly all the things mentioned above plus more and it has the wow factor

Just downloaded StarUML for evaluation purposes... Has anybody tried Altova's UModel?

I use Visual Paradigm - VP-UML - *purely* because the drawing interface is slick. I can draw in VP-UML nearly as fast as I can sketch freehand, and I don't have to keep redrawing because I've run out of room for properties or I put a box in a stupid place. I don't do MDA, but very occasionally will reverse engineer an existing system into VP-UML as a starting point.

Of course... I should have thought of XMI. I've never tried using it, I guess I should. I worry that it will expose the lack of semantic rigour in my models :-)

Tom

I'm surprised by the number of Sparx Enterprise Architect users. It's a tool that I've heard of before but not come across in the UK. Considering the price, I might have to take a look at the evaluation.

At what sort of level do you use it? For sketching out processes, high level designs, accurately modelling the low/class level designs, etc?

I've been using starUML on my current project. It's quite full-featured but the interface is dire. I actually had to run a small internal training session to show people how to do such complex things as "searching for an element".

Code generation and reverse engineering aren't great either and I can't use it on my mac at home.

I, too, will investigate Enterprise Architect.

enterprise architect is a greate tool. But have two problem, and one is a BIG problem 1) no CTRL+z or undo (minor problem) 2) only WINDOWS, no linux, no mac.... VERY VERY BUG PROBLEM !!!! http://gpitech.wordpress.com/

1) Whiteboard and marker (definitely the best) 2) Paper and pen 3) Visio (if it really must be included in a document that will become out of date in 5 minutes and that nobody will read) Other tools usually make things too verbose and complicated, although if that's your kind of thing...

Magic Draw has been working well for me on the Mac.

Umlet for UML and Liquid Xml Editor for validation

I just posted on another blog by this author about UML. My main evaluation factor for a tool was .Net code engineering, sturdy UML diagramming with good navigational capabilities such as "Jump to code/model tree/diagram/hyperlinks etc" and Undo/Redo. UModel: After evaluating several tools, I have ended up with the relatively new Altova UModel 2008. UModel integrates very well within Visual Studio, but it is a tad bit unstable at times but nothing critical. I find it way better than Sparxx Enterprise Architect. These guys are constantly adding new features and offer great professional support. Quite a bit of Wow factor. $139 to $199 EA: EA lacks a whole bunch of basic stuff for UML software designers but it seems to be a hit with documentation and process oriented folks who are content with abstract UML. It does not have Undo/Redo outside of the diagram pane. The UML diagrams seem to be "lightweight" almost like a drawing tool. I guess its success is largely due to it being the first affordable alternative to other overpriced (way overpriced) tools. Magicdraw: I used Magicdraw for a while and really liked it but it is pricier for C# code engineering version ($899)and a whole lot heavier on the memory. Visual Paradigm: Found Visual Paradigm a little too hyped, heavy and unstable. It had the initial wow factor but its defects became visible quite soon. Some others like Modelmaker, Metamill, Visual UML, etc. are very simplistic and incomplete for .Net types. Modelmaker is a slick little tool though..i almost bought it.

Here's a link to the other comment referred to.

I tried (and also have to work with) Rational Rose, Together, MagicDraw, Enterprise Architect, Visual Paradigm,..... and my absolute favorite is Altova UModel!

I use JUDE Community. http://jude.change-vision.com/jude-web/index.html

I will choose UML Almighty for executable UML. From www.uml-almighty.com