A UML-expressed conceptual model should only be used by technical designers who use the
model to record, communicate, and improve the UML-expressed developing interactive
system design.
Showing users raw UML is a mistake. However, users can design and read object diagrams
expressed in simpified non-UML forms, rendered with pictures representing objects,
rather than the UML symbols for objects. This is useful for participatory design
where users and developers co-design the system.
The value of participatory design
is that the users bring application domain expertise
to the developing design, and the technical developers bring technical expertise to the
developing design. The resulting design is then based on knowledge from both the
users' and the designers' worlds.
