Is Visio used frequently in the business analysis profession? I gather that it's not as robust as other specialized UML tools, but how are my chances if Visio is the only tool that I list on my resume for UML modeling? I do have experience in Embarcadero ER Studio, if that would be seen as an added plus. :-)
TIA
Yes - Visio is used by many business analysts. One of the primary reasons is because many companies buy Microsoft Office Professional licenses which come with Vision. Unfortunately, most organizations don't go past that as they think that Visio is good enough.
On your resume question: most employers do not look for BAs with specific tool experience as they realize that any competent Business Analyst can easily learn/pickup a new tool. What is more important is the BA's skills and knowledge with the notation itself as well as the experience and knowledge to apply the notation to the given business analysis task. This goes back to the question you asked in the other thread: you do need to develop the knowledge and skills to be able to know what "tools" you have at your disposal and use them to solve the correct problems.
For example: use a Class Diagram to either model the business domain of a given vertical industry or business problem or you can also use the Class Diagram to model the classes during the design phase.
- Adrian
What can I say? That's invaluable information.
Thankfully, I've been doing the gathering of requirements and specification of functional and technical design thing for several years now, so this is very useful to know. The only things that I have not done are a) worked with a particular methodolgy (that I know of), b) used a modeling language (only very descriptive tables (often to define user roles and constraints) and flowcharts (for business processes, design processes, and constraints as well), and c) used technologies specific to modeling other than Visio and ER Studio (for the DB stuff).
It seems, if I'm understanding you correctly, that when I cover the essentials of the aspects listed in a, b, and c above I'll have a pretty nice background to apply toward a BA position. I already have the applied math and statistics degree, too, so hopefully that helps!
Thanks again, Adrian! Your advice is well-taken, trust me, sir.
I'm having trouble finding information on creating an Object In State. Is there a comprehensive resource out there that covers all aspects of the UML features in Visio?
Hmmm... I'm not sure. I would try the Help content for Visio or take a look at Microsoft.com.
Maybe: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/visio/HP012089121033.aspx?pid=CH100902581033
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