Visual Paradigm

Introduction to Visual Paradigm

Visual Paradigm is a tool used for creating & managing the UML or the unified modelling language cases, which also supports the Object Management Group including the Business Process Modelling Notation. Furthermore, the Visual Paradigm aids as a key for various phases of software development lifecycle, such as the program development, software engineering, report creation during system analysis, etc. It is known for its ability to assist in back tracing and creating the UML models from the logical programs already created for a specific software application and allows the complete end-to-end development processes for diversecoding methods.

Uses of Visual Paradigm

Given below are the various uses of the visual paradigm application for a range of object modelling based activities:

• For creating the UML Use case diagram to demonstrate the functional flow of an application, to edit the already created UML models for the said application, View and Managing the description of the elements in the diagram.
• Exporting and Importing the diagrams in and out of the visual paradigm, in order to edit or manipulate the use cases, to insert statements for the use cases, and manage the same, for grouping option for selective shapes, and breaking the already grouped elements.
• Facility to open an existing model, just by using the model’s name or part of its name as a key, with the help of Jump, with Options to allow collaboration amongst the team, such as the Login, Commit, Update, Tasifier, PostMania, Visual History and Utilities.
• Application of different tasks involved with the Modeling tasks, including the requirement list for fetching & accessing the multiple requirements, Storyboards to view the scenarios involved in the use case, visual diff for validating the difference amongst the diagrams, Animation facility for adding the animation on to the diagrams, Simulation of the business models created as an UML, Nicknames for easy access of elements in the diagrams, etc.
• Another important application of using the Visual Paradigm is the provision to enable analysis and generate reports based on the analytical outcomes, in the form of a chart or a table.
• One can draw their own use case in the form of unified modelling language using this tool, and notations in the diagram as & when required. It also allows creating documentations for these diagrams and details at the later point in time.
• Use case Notes option in this tool helps the user to keep track on the additional information or initiatives with respect to each and every use case. These notes can be later used for producing new use cases, as the scope of the project increases in the future.

How to Install Visual Paradigm?

The Installation process for Visual Paradigms is as simple as any other system based application software.

The user can follow the below steps to install the Visual Paradigm software in their desktop.

Step 1: Open the Web browser and type/ paste the URL: ‘https://www.visual-paradigm.com/download/’. Click on ‘Download Visual Paradigm’ button shown in red in the visual paradigm website.

Step 2: After the download is complete, navigate to the downloaded location in the desktop, right click on the .exe file and select the ‘run as administrator’ option.

Step 3: Now, the installer will start running on the screen while showing the setup wizard on the user interface. Click ‘Next’ to view and read the license agreement provided by the software owner. Read the license agreement, click on ‘I accept the agreement’ (otherwise the installation cannot be completed), and then click on ‘Next’ to move further.

Step 4: Select the directory details for installing the application, and click ‘Next’. Create shortcuts when prompted with the options to do so, along with the preferred name, and then click ‘Next’.

Step 5: After this, the File Association page opens. Here, check the ‘Visual Paradigm Project (*.vpp)’ for enabling the system to open the application on simple double –click action from the active mouse device. Then, click ‘Next’.

Step 6: In the final installation page, the installer asks if you want to open the application after installation completion, click yes if required. Then, as a final step, click on the ‘Finish’ button, to complete the Visual Paradigm installation process.

Features of Visual Paradigm

Visual Paradigm is a versatile tool, specifically used for increasing productivity in the areas where the use cases are created, managed and used as the UML elements.

It is well-known for the features of the application.

• The foremost advantageous feature of the Visual Paradigm tool is that it supports all the commonly used operating systems, which includes the Windows 2000, Windows NT, Windows 2003, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 10, Mac OSX, Linux and Unix.
• Dedicated panes in the interface for toolbar, diagram editing, adding and editing descriptions & messages, project browsing, to view logics, etc. It also has provisions to create, save, manage, organize and switch between both new & already existing projects in the system.
• For UML modelling, the tool comes contains space for drawing the use cases, notation guides, creating documentation on the use case details, include notes for the use cases, and to create new use cases with the marked notes from previous use cases.
• The different types of diagrams supported by the Visual Paradigm are Class diagrams, Sequence diagrams, Communication diagrams, State machine diagrams, Activity diagrams, Component diagrams, deployment diagrams, package diagrams, object diagrams, composite structure diagrams, timing diagrams, interaction overview diagrams, requirement diagrams, textual analytical references and the CRC card diagrams.
• It also acts as a BPM toolset, as it contains the capacity for drawing the business process diagrams, handling the pools, lanes, tasks, sub -tasks, Events, etc, and for creating & manipulating the conversation diagrams used as a part of BPMN toolset.

Conclusion

Visual Paradigm is a one-stop tool for multiple UML related activities like creating the use case diagrams, managing the different types of modelling diagrams, handling business process modelling notation, requirement management actions, data modelling steps, etc. It comes in various edition formats, from the free trial with all the basic attributes to the costlier edition being the Enterprise Edition with the advanced attributes.

Recommended Articles

This is a guide to Visual Paradigm. Here we discuss how to install visual paradigm, uses and features respectively. You may also have a look at the following articles to learn more –

1. UML Diagram Softwares
2. UML Use Case Diagram
3. UML Activity Diagram
4. Types of UML Diagrams