So what are the UML diagrams (if any) Stackoverflow has been using for documentation and/or for communication with developers?
From what I see, Stackoverflow is something original that also provides rich user experience.
Just wondering what does it take (what helps) to realize a great thought into real life? I`m just a student graduating seeking for advice/experience/suggestions/examples from senieors.
How much these diagrams help in real life and in what volume (the diagrams), I wonder...
I really expect all my co-workers to be able to read a UML diagram properly; it's become a kind of universal language for speaking about OO designs.
Back in the days of big design we made tons of models that we put in big binders. Especially sequence diagrams were really nice for detailed designs. These binders would look really impressive on some shelf, but it turned out most of the value in these models are in the process of making them
So now we mostly just draw boxes with lines between them on whiteboards. But whenever we resort to explicit notations to be precise, it's always UML. Usually we photograph them with our phone if they seem like they're worth keeping. Sometimes we just leave them on the whiteboard because they kind-of burn into the whiteboard if they stay there for some days ;) [And you have to be especially daring to use the smelly strong cleaner]
UML is a "standard" defined way to communicate something. Being well defined it removes ambiguities that may exist when using other methods.
Having said that I don't use them with my team. I find that the overhead in doing proper UML is too high.
Since I work in a small team (about 5 people) that works in the same location, we'll often sit down and sketch diagrams in discussions. If we need to reference these diagrams, we'll scan them and post them to a repository for later reference.
UML is probably more beneficial in teams that don't communicate well, and may not be co-located.
I read an article in Inc Magazine about this site, which is how I found out about it. Apparently very little formal process was followed. Basically, the guys who did it were just really good. My money is also on no UML. I wonder if they use OO?