Enterprise Architect for Windows

User Reviews

• Worst possible software out there

  Bladeee123April 22, 2015

  Pros

  None, don't bother!

  Cons

  - obscure as hell; - 0 documentation both on site and in the application; - 0 portability: tried importing from IBM Rhapsody and all I get is "Import Failed!". Really? You want to consider yourselves top notch but your error messages are virtually inexistent -> impossible to solve; - Java API? Consider it doesn't exist! It takes at least 1 hour to figure out how to install the damned thing since the documentation for getting it to work is poorly written and incomplete. There is 0 usefulness for it since all of its capabilities have ZERO documentation. There are functions that are described as "AddNew (string, string1)". What is this? What does it do? How does it work? Why isn't it working? Also the errors that the Java API seem to be the children of the import: if you have an issue with the API, you get "Internal Error!". Awesome! - zero utility: I've spent days trying to find solutions to my problems online and on forums. Guess what? Nobody responds since this is too obscure!

  Summary

  I created an account here just to give a review for this app. I would give it 0 or even -1 stars (aka: they should pay us to stay away) but sadly I can only give it half a star. Please stay away! To Sparx Systems: Good luck, you're gonna need it!

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• Enjoy Working for the last 10 years

  objengNovember 21, 2013

  Pros

  EA is a full set of tools when one cares for software design rather then just hacking along. EA is like a pocket calculator by HP. It has more in it then you regularly need. If you have to model or reengineer some software you have a very good chance to find it in the offered set of EA. The use is intiitiv or easily found in the help. The use is robust. Generation of pragmatic docs is easy and code generation is very good. Even reengineering C++ code gave great results. I love to work with EA it fullfils the daily wishes of a software engineer

  Cons

  Interface design and generating WSDL is not that intuitive

  Summary

  I have been working with EA for the last 10 years after having worked with Rational Rose 10 years before. EA was more then a full replacement for RR. As we modernize old software we often have to reengineer existing code and this works (with exception of COBOL ;-)) even for C++ very good. I mostly use it in conjunction with Java. Also documenting software architectures with EA is straight forward. I love to work with EA and the price model is great. Great improvments every year. Australian Software companies are No 1 in the world!

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• Easy-to use anf function-rich, great CASE tool

  emustyApril 15, 2013

  Pros

  Due to great diagramming features, you can focus on the information represented rather than the presentation itself. Support for wide range of standards and practices makes EA fit for many purposes. EA is in continuous development, so you can really expect new and improved features over time.

  Cons

  Document generation is a bit tricky and could be greatly enhanced.

  Summary

  Great for single professionals and teams, too, with no (or with a very minimal) administration overhead. You can draw diagrams quickly, and you can reliably turn your diagrams into data models and SQL scripts, as well.

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• Beats toolsets 10 times more expensive

  the_kaptainJanuary 8, 2013

  Pros

  Covers everything and more you can thing of from business modelling to round trip coding. Frameworks, standards, Methodologies are all there. The benefit is once you get over the learning curve of the product and of course KNOW the framework/notation you wish to use you can customise how you want to work.

  Cons

  It is a tool to cover a vast array of areas some which it does better than others but is not a master of any.

  Summary

  At this price it is worth purchasing to get your company rolling if you have nothing in place or an area of your life cycle is missing it will help you to deliver and ask question how you could work better.

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• Too powerful for its own good

  SurfSerfMay 18, 2011

  Pros

  It is capable of doing any type of design and analysis documentation that you may ever want

  Cons

  Getting it do actually do what you want in a intuitive manner is next to impossible.

  Summary

  It seems to have been built by starting with a fairly straightforward diagramming tool that then got expanded and expanded over time without any coherent thought as to how the whole package would inter-operate Looking back at the previous work I have done with EA, I find many instances where I have tried to do something, struggled for half a day, and then given up and used another package. I typically find that by the time I have given up trying to complete a simple step - such as adding an alternate path to a use case, I could have done the whole process in countless other programs. Menu items come and go, items show up far from where they would be in any other package, and there are myriad configurable options when all you want is a simple Sequence diagram. Buying the product is the cheap part - it is the training you need to think the Sparx way that will bankrupt you.

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• Very powerful, but annoying when programming C++

  bluespirit25February 22, 2011

  Pros

  Good implementation of the UML standard (many features) Nice colors (not too eye-catching)

  Cons

  Bad zooming behavior (fonts, drag&drop, etc) Too less information per cm² Bad C++ support No usable support for templates Often not intuitive

  Summary

  Explanation to the CONs (this is just based on the class diagrams): 1) Bad zooming behavior When you zoom out, very early the fonts are too tiny to read (compared with StarUML, where this problem appears very much later). At a later zoom-step all fonts disappear - instead of showing only the class name. 2) No usable support for templates When using the reverse engineering and having templates in the code, the relationships are missing 3) Bad C++ Support When having members as Pointers or References, they are not tracked. This means, when renaming the class - the member-type stays the same. When dropping all reference/pointer syntax (* and &) it works.. 4) Too less Information per cm² There are great gaps in each class diagram, which could be filled with information. So the fonts are small, and on a regular monitor you can only visualize 3 classes - what is too less. 5) Often not intuitive If you don't use the EA for some weeks, it's hard to get productive again. E.g. having shortcuts as F3 repeat a relationship action, and Shift+F3 for repeating a 'creation action' (as creating a class). Or a double-click on the member opens some class info screen, which is normally not interesting...

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• Best value for money CASE tool there is

  AndyBo1October 14, 2010

  Pros

  EA is easy to use Very cheap compared to the big names but does everything they do. The HTML generation of the model makes documentation easily visible Customisation extends the model

  Cons

  Requirements repoting could be better

  Summary

  I have used a number of very expensive CASE tools in the last 15 years and using EA for nearly 10 years. EA does everything they do and at a fraction of the price. As a Business Analyst it documents everything I want. It fully supports BPML, allows for domain modelling, and most importantly requirements modelling. HTML generation of the documentation makes the model visable and easy to review. It is easy to customise the model to extend functionality where needed, e.g. additional attributes. The product is constantly being expanded - the latest release incorporates Business Rules Modelling (not used yet) I cannot fault this product.

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• Great product, full of usefull UML tool and more.

  Rob8415May 18, 2010

  Pros

  Easy to use with a great range of modelling tools, I am new to UML however I have found this product to meet all my needs. Well done! I like how it allows code engineering and reverse engineering. Makes software development more fun.

  Cons

  So much to choose from, this at first was my opinion, however it covers all area's of UML 2 and this is really a good thing.

  Summary

  Great investment, thanks guys for a great affordable product. :)

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• Everything in one place

  Geoff12728March 19, 2010

  Pros

  Clean, logical interface. Easy to reverse engineer Link everything ! Manage requirements Manage build and testing cycle Easy to document and export Good at generating code and DDL to create databases. Cheaper than alternatives, and reliable

  Cons

  Sometimes so many features, it is hard to recall where one component is. The documenter is good, but complex to configure or modify. The Diagrams are adequate, but not as 'pretty' as some tools, if making a presentation.

  Summary

  I have been using this for nearly 10 years, it has been the only tool that integrates all aspects of the Software Development lifecyle and is great at project team work and the price point means that I can equip the whole team with a common toolset for multiple roles. The version control is a little bit onerous, but it is good to enforce strict control throughout a large and disperesed team as long as there is access to the tool and version control repository.

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• Cost effective, Comprehensive

  KrayolFebruary 25, 2010

  Pros

  UML compliant - supports all diagram types Easy to use Incredibly complete Integrates with other products Standardised interchange format (XMI) Version control support Repositories include Access, SQL Server, Oracle, etc Floating licenses

  Cons

  A bit quirky in places (odd key bindings) A little dated looking Sometimes hard to find the function that you are looking for in the menus (although it's usually there, somewhere!)

  Summary

  Used here for requirements capture (very good), Use case diagrams, activity, other modeling. A great tool for UML - IMHO the best that you can get; and a fraction of the price of many others.

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