UML 2001: A Standardization Odyssey

proposing the UML specification for international standardization. It is anticipated that the “fast track” PAS process will complete sometime next year, at which time UML will be formally recognized as an international standard for information technology. The major benefits of international standardization for a specification include wide recognition and acceptance, which typically enlarge the market for products based on it. However, these benefits often demand a high price. Standardization processes are typically formal and protracted, seeking to accommodate a diverse range of technical and business requirements. From a business perspective, the timescales of standards usually conflict with the competitive need to use the latest technology as early as possible. From a technical perspective, the need to achieve consensus encourages “design by committee” processes. In this sort of environment, sound technical tradeoffs are often overridden by inferior political compromises. Too frequently the resulting specifications become bloated with patches in a manner similar to the way laws become fattened with riders in “pork belly” legislation. This article explores how the UML is faring in the international standardization process. It assumes the reader is generally familiar with the use of UML, and instead focuses on the language’s recent and As the UML reaches the ripe age of four, both its proponents and its critics are scanning the recent changes in the UML 1.3 revision.