Completely non-representative survey: Modeling tools

About the Modeling Craftsmanship Camp 2016 I have already reported on this. There was also a live modeling session at the event, which was also well received. The tool Enterprise Architect from Sparx used. However, the question arose: Which Modeling tools are still available, and which is "the best" (which would certainly have to be qualified with the application scenario)? Regardless of this, the event was not only about system modeling, but also other types of modeling.

Of course, this question cannot be answered in a sustainable way at an event like this. But at least we asked every participant and summarized the results here. And the winner is...

Enterprise Architect or MS Office?

A total of 60 tools were named by the 40 or so participants (multiple answers were permitted). Enterprise Architect was chosen as the winner with 12 votes.

In the survey, Enterprise Architect was the most popular modeling tool with 20% of mentions. [tweetthis]In the survey, Enterprise Architect was the most popular modeling tool with 20% of mentions[/tweetthis]

Microsoft products were also mentioned several times. First and foremost Visio, but also PowerPoint, Word and Excel. Of course, it is debatable whether Visio can be used for modeling or "only" for drawing. Nevertheless, it should not be forgotten that these tools are on every computer and can easily be misused.

Office is the poor man's tool of choice - for everything! [tweetthis]Office is the poor man's tool of choice - for everything![/tweetthis]

We had a total of 7 mentions of Office products. However, the number of unreported cases is certainly higher: participants who had already mentioned another tool did not think of Office. But the moment someone mentioned Visio, the response was: "oh yes, we use it from time to time too..."

Further modeling tools

There were a few ties with 7 votes each from very different areas:

• Matlab/Simulink, i.e. simulation and calculations (7 votes).
• Require, i.e. requirements modeling (7 votes).

There were only a few tools that had more than two mentions. The ones not yet mentioned are:

• 6 voices: Rhapsody (together with the "Embedded UML Studio" based on it).
• 5 votes: DOORS

Conclusion: Where modeling is used

It is almost more interesting to look at the areas in which modeling is used than the actual tools. The three areas of system modeling, requirements modeling and simulation were predominant at this event.

This surprised me because modeling has been used in other areas for a long time. Specifically, I'm thinking of design activities, which are usually based on a formalism and manifest themselves in a model. This can perhaps be explained by the fact that design, and not modeling, is at the forefront of such activities.

Tools for testing, validation and verification activities were also rarely mentioned. This can perhaps also be explained by the fact that models are generally consumed but not created during these activities.

Appendix: The remaining tools

For the sake of completeness, here is the list of tools that only received one or two votes:

• MagicDraw (2 votes)
• PlantUML (2 votes)
• Own solution (2 votes)
• StarUML (2 votes)
• EMF (1 vote)
• Astade (1 vote)
• Visual Paradigm (1 vote)
• Polarion (1 vote)
• Seapine Test/Requisite Pro (1 vote)
• Arcway Cockpit (1 vote)
• Visual Studio (1 vote)
• Bizagi (1 vote)

What do you think?

As a reader of my blog, you probably also use modeling tools. What do you mean? Which tools do you use? Which ones should be mentioned? Discuss in the comments section! (Comment)

Image: Unsplash / Todd Quackenbush