UML Diagram Editor is ready

I have been working on a small chrome App, a tool for building UML diagrams from text. It leverages PlantUML, which I have found to be a great tool, but seriously lacks a decent desktop app to use it. So I build one, or at least the start of one.

You can find it here:
UML Diagram Editor

I have been teaching my colleagues to create Sequence Diagrams to plan agile stories. They can capture, communicate and confirm all the tasks required for a story with all the participants and interested parties, before even creating the tickets to achieve it.

As far as clear communication goes, I now see sequence diagrams as equal importance to using BDD style acceptance criteria. As both allow everyone up and down the technical/business chains to understand exactly what it planned, and what is required.

To use sequence diagrams for you project...

Keep it simple, only one feature per story.
It is more likely to finish on time, and easier to describe fully.
Any scope creep goes into a new story, to be prioritized into the backlog.

When planning the story, simply create a sequence diagram describing the flow that will occur when the feature is finished. Include UIs, acceptance criteria, validation, message formats, button clicks, and anything else you believe is needed to describe the solution you are going to build.

Now just look at your completed diagram, the tasks should fall out of it very readily, separated by component, and position in the flow. Dependencies will also be very obvious, so those tasks can be done in order.


I have found this to be a superb solution to the issue of communication within a team, as well as externally, as it provides an easy point of focus and discussion. When it is easy to edit or modify the UML diagram, it becomes a live document, and the only one needed if the tasks are kept small.