Unified Modeling Language Reference Manual, The, Second Edition

Levels of Models

Models take on different forms for various purposes and appear at different levels of abstraction. The amount of detail in the model must be adapted to one of the following purposes.

Guides to the thought process. High-level models built early in a project serve to focus the thought process of the stakeholders and highlight options. They capture requirements and represent a starting point toward a system design. The early models help the originators explore possible options before converging on a system concept. As design progresses, the early models are replaced by more accurate models. There is no need to preserve every twist and turn of the early exploratory process. Its purpose is to produce ideas. The final “thinking models” ...