Seeking UML tips or alternatives

[peter@dragonstaff.com]

Quoting bloke at perlbloke.com:

> <delurk>
> I'm working on a Perl project that's got pretty large. I've been   
> putting together a detailed project plan for the management and also  
>  some of the investors. They want it to include clear diagrams and   
> I've been recommended UML, the problem is I haven't used UML before   
> and it's looking pretty daunting.

Go for some high level use case diagrams and possibly a deployment diagram.
What do the investors want to see? My guess is something that explains  
in really simple terms how it will be used, how it fits together with  
what's there already and a glance at a deployment diagram that  
justifies how much kit they need to fund. You can do all this pretty  
easily using MS Visio and using its UML templates. The O'Reilly pocket  
reference is okay or you could get one of those "learn it in X hours"  
kind of books.
You'll need something more detailed on the PM/technical side for your  
own use but beyond them dropping it on the desk to see how thud-worthy  
it is, I doubt they'd understand much of it.

Regards, Peter
http://perl.dragonstaff.co.uk