If you’ve ever tried to go from “what we want to build” to a working baseline, you’ve seen the same failure modes: missing context, inconsistent diagrams, and scaffolds that don’t match how the system actually behaves.
This guide shows a practical workflow for UML to code generation that favors clarity and repeatability: describe the system, model the right views, validate before generating, then produce a clean baseline you can extend.
1) Start with intent, not diagrams
Write a system description that includes: users, core entities, key flows, and stateful processes. Don’t over-index on UI details yet—capture responsibilities and boundaries.
2) Choose the smallest set of UML views that remove ambiguity
A practical default set is:
- Class diagram: the core domain model and relationships
- Sequence diagram: one or two critical flows end-to-end
- Activity diagram: business workflows (approvals, steps, branching)
- State machine: for truly stateful entities (orders, tasks, tickets)
3) Validate before you generate
Treat validation like a compile step. You want to catch problems that would create broken scaffolds: duplicate names, orphaned relationships, incomplete flows, etc.
4) Generate an executable baseline (then iterate)
Once the model is coherent, generating a baseline is valuable because it makes gaps visible immediately: missing fields, endpoints, workflow steps, permissions, and more.
5) Common pitfalls (and how to avoid them)
- Over-modeling: start with one or two flows; expand only when needed.
- Missing ownership: ensure every entity has a clear lifecycle and owner/process.
- Unvalidated names: enforce consistent naming conventions early.
Next steps
- Read: Code generation
- Try: Interactive demo