Applying UML and Patterns: An Introduction to Object-Oriented Analysis and Design and the Unified Process, Second Edition

15.4. Interaction Diagrams Are Valuable

A common problem in object technology projects is a lack of appreciation for the value of doing object design via the medium of interaction diagrams. A related problem is doing them in a vague way, such as showing messages to objects that actually require much further elaboration; for example, showing the message runSimulation to some Simulation object, but not continuing on with the more detailed design, as though by virtue of a well-named message the design is magically complete.

Some non-trivial time and effort should be spent in the creation of interaction diagrams, as a reflection of thinking through details of the object design. For example, if the length of the timeboxed iteration is two weeks, perhaps ...