I'm not sure if others feel this way, but I'd actually rather see someone's free form artsy drawing than a UML picture. I think it's reasonable to expect that a skilled developer should be able to provide an intuitive whiteboard diagram or slide-show graphic. It takes some practice, sure, but I think UML is the wrong solution. UML is constantly misused. Big enterprises love CASE tools like Rational Rose, which push UML way beyond its intended usefulness.
I'd actually rather see someone's free form artsy drawing than a UML picture
I totally agree. The whole idea behind UML is to force diagrams into a set of constraints drawn from a particular model of computing and design (early 90s OO, I suppose) on the assumption that this is the "right" way to imagine software. This excludes the ineffable creativity which drawings are so good for. It's amazing what happens in a good design discussion when people spontaneously pick up a pen at a whiteboard without thinking about it. UML forces people to think about something other than the problem at hand, distorting ideas and breaking flow.
And in the name of what? "We need a standard," they used to say, "so that people know whether they should draw square boxes or round ones, so we can get beyond the notation wars." What tripe.
