Creating a Data Model with UML?

[TimHayes]

We want to create a Data Model for the infrastructure inside our Wastewater Treatment Plant (similiar to the Water Utilities Template and other ESRI UML Models). What is the best approach to do this...using UML? if we do use UML, what software do we need? or using Geodatabase Designer? this is a bit clunky, any news on if ESRI updated this tool for 10? it has a great potential. Is Visio a good tool to use for this? if so, any advice you can give would be very helpful.

Our goal is to diagram our data, show relationships, and be able to generate a new or modify our existing geodatabase.

What are your recommendations or thoughts?

[danan]

The geodatabase modeling and design requirements survey closes tomorrow (Wed) August 31st at 11:59pm Eastern US time. Thanks to those who've already participated. It's a user-driven survey I helped create in support of the Geodatabase Modeling and Design Special Interest Group (SIG) for Esri's 2011 International User Conference.

I'd love to see more International representation. Most responses are from the US. Qualitative answers (text entries) are more valuable than quantitative ones (check boxes, etc). Please mention specific use cases and anything that would help in your daily work. Skip whatever isn't relevant. The survey isn't just for experts. It's for anyone who designs geodatabases. Of particular interest to me in designing the survey was integration of Enterprise GDB Design with Relational Database Design and the rest of Enterprise IT.

A summary of survey results will be posted to my blog, http://SpatialDba.com, by October 31st.

Direct survey link:
http://spatialdba.com/limesurvey/index.php?sid=72916&lang=en

A review of the 2011 SIG event can be found below. Hope to do another in 2012:
A View of the Geodatabase Modeling and Design SIG Event at Esri�??s 2011 International User Conference
http://spatialdba.com/?p=104

The survey has been extended by one day. It will now close today, Sept 1, at 5pm Eastern US time.

[danan]

Survey results are now available:
Geodatabase Modeling and Design Tool Survey quantitative results