[skyhawk133]

I haven't really gotten in to formal system design that much, but I'd like to and everything I've read points to UML as the way to go... anyone using anything else? Suggestions for easier or other modeling languages/diagrams.

[cyberscribe]

I grab a whiteboard and a bunch of colored markers and make it up as I go along. Most of my network diagrams end up looking like pointer diagrams, with a box for each interface. I always try to tie it to something semi-physical (a network, some hardware, or some software framework) to make it more concrete. Usually my best design pattern work starts on a whiteboard or a sheet of graph paper (I have those groovy retro four-color-in-one pens that I use obsessively). Then I digitize, using OmniGraffle and whatever shapes best suit my thought process.

That's me. Rebel without an acronym.