At the beginning of the '90s there were 26 published methods on object-orientation, most with its own notation with its own set of icons. It was in this environment that UML was born. Although Grady Booch, Jim Rumbaugh, and Ivar Jacobson initiated the design of what became UML, many other contributors (including Steve Cook) quickly joined the effort and the Object Management Group (OMG) launched the result. UML quickly made most other methods -- along with their own notations, obsolete -- UML eventually became the standard we had hoped for, and toolbuilders and practitioners rapidly adopted the new approach.
