Which software design tools are the most popular for professionals?

I have used tools like draw.io in the past. But I always felt the diagrams werw unnatural. recently I found excalidraw which is much more close to hand drawing in appearance. Loving it!!

A picture is worth a thousand words & and I believe that this is true for software design too. I always handwrite flowcharts & and UML to describe my ideas. And have used varied sets of tools to digitize them like document processing tools like PowerPoint, and Word as specialized tools Rational Software Architect, and Confluence's UML plugins as well. Now we are in the Gen AI era, which is helping us generate anything we humans can! While it can design the responsibility and ownership will remain with us.

I mainly use mermaid language in markdown files and keep them on GitHub. In this way, you can keep design documentation with technical documentation in a single place and you also have the plus of having source control over your UML designs.

pictorial representation is easy to explain and easy to understand. UML gives a structure way to design these. In my experience I have worked with PlantUML, Enterprise Architect, Rhapsody. But I always feel scripting base tools like PlantUML are more easy to create my design. On the other hand, IBM tools are more structured and regulates the design to follow the industry standards.

There are many tools for UML, but before you pick a tool you need to understand who is the audience . If you are preparing a System architecture view for executive you can use even MS PowerPoint. If you are preparing something for technical stakeholders you can use EA, Visio or Confluence plugins. If the end goal is to generate the blue plate code from UML, then you can use Rational Rose. The cost of all tools vary a lot, so choose the tool based on your stakeholders.

I have used both low fidelity and high fidelity tools both with great success. I find that as an analyst the low fidelity tools help to frame to proposed solution and get the required approval to move into the high fidelity phase, where the UI and UX team can take over. For this I make use of Moqups which is quick and easy to use without a complicated UI that one has to learn.

Balsamiq and Figma are good goto tools. Both are good free versions to try out and explore. But for basic concept mapping, you could pretty much use anything. Even our good old pen and paper or the back of the napkin

We were using a wireframing tool such as Balsamiq and Adobe XD, where designers create digital wireframes. For the homepage, the wireframe might show sections for featured products, navigation menu, and promotional banners. Product pages could display images, descriptions, and "Add to Cart" buttons.

I have used adobe XD and Figma, I felt more comfortable with XD. However, it is highly recommended before reaching this point to faithfully follow the steps in order to achieve a good user experience and facilitate the work of designers, developers and testers. This work is intense but very valuable if done correctly.

Sublime text is one of the most user friendly code editors I've used one of its standout features is its support for multiple selections. This allows users to make simultaneous edits in different parts of the code, improving efficiency.

Visual Studio Code has truly led the IDE world for about six years now. Thanks to its extensions, you can add virtually any functionality to it. Also AI like Copilot further accelerates coding within the IDE.

Visual Studio Code; Lightweight and fast, it is free and open-source, it is cross-platform and also it has large and active community.

I adore Visual Studio Code. It's the little red sportscar compared to the fully loaded RV that is Visual Studio. Both have their place. With Code's rich marketplace of extensions, it can feel like a completely different tool to different developers. For instance, its built-in Markdown support makes it easy to do some quick technical writing while its built-in Azure support means I never have to leave the IDE to build and deploy complex cloud-native apps. It's also the little things... in Visual Studio Code, I can have my comments in a completely different font than my code. Specifically, my comments are in cursive/script as if they were handwritten notes.

Code editors will transform into voice recognition and code generators, where the humans will talk to the machine and build prototypes. After several concesations between the humans and ten machine, when all parties are happy, the code is transformed into a product. That is the transition from invention to innovation and the productization of ideas on a value chain supervised by AI will make this journey less tedious, faster and very repeatable.

Even though design tools are critical for the SW development, Debugging tools are the most popular due to the heavy lifting which needs to be done by most of the SW engineers on resolving the issues with lot of time pressure. Hence, Having a robust debugging tool is must for any IT company

Ah, debugging! It's like being a detective in the world of code, hunting down those elusive bugs and solving the mysteries they present. Debuggers integrated with IDEs are a lifesaver; they seamlessly blend into your coding environment, eliminating the need for extra steps and streamlining the debugging process. However, let's not forget the power of Chrome DevTools for frontend debugging. Its intuitive interface and extensive features make it a fantastic tool for dissecting and troubleshooting frontend components with ease. Whether you're delving into the depths of Visual Studio Debugger or navigating through the complexities of Chrome DevTools, the goal remains the same: to squash those bugs and keep your code running smoothly.

Don’t forget about the fiddler. Sometime it is a lifesaver in debugging when certain reported bugs are not easily reproduced in development environment.

SAML tracer ChromeBook plugin which is being widely used to debug SAML authentication flow using IDPs like Okta, Azure, ADFS, etc

Just like IDEs, the choice of debugging tools are are usually a matter of taste from the software engineer's / programmer's perspective. Try out several tools to find the one that fits your needs, programming workflow and taste the best: Some of the best tools are: Chrome DevTools, Visual Studio Debugger, Visual Studio Code Debugger, intelliJ Debugger, and the debuggers from other IDEs of JetBrains. If you would like to move away from desktop tools and use the flexibility of the web, then consider using cloud editors, like GitHub Codespaces or Gitpod.

I see a trend in the embedded space to use more comprehensive unit test tools. Spend you time and money on good functional unit tests and automate them

Testing saves lives. Testing is crucial for mission-critical software as it can prevent severe financial losses, liabilities, and even human casualties. For instance, consider the Boeing 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019, which were attributed to poor quality programming in the flight control system. Thorough testing and quality assurance could have potentially prevented these tragic events. Similarly, in healthcare, software glitches or failures can have life-threatening consequences. Robust testing practices are not just a cost but a vital investment in safety and reliability.

It takes quite an effort to cover all functionality of a software system with tests, especially at the beginning of a project. Therefore, one should employ regression testing to have a system in place that detects changes that cause the quality of the software to degrade. For example, one should create a test to reproduce a known bug. The test should pass once the bug is fixed. Moreover, the test should remain in the test suite to ensure that this bug does not pop up again in the future without the developers being noticed.

Always bear in mind that, much like any product, testing serves as a crucial tool throughout every stage of the software product cycle. Its purpose is to ensure that what you have designed, developed, or maintained aligns with the expectations of both yourself and other stakeholders. Furthermore, proactive testing not only identifies potential issues but also plays a key role in preventing them. By incorporating thorough testing at each stage, you not only meet expectations but also contribute to the overall quality and reliability of the software product.

Testing is a critical part of your development process. In most IDE's you can develop unit tests to test each part of an application during the development stages before it is anywhere near published. In some environments poorly tested software can lead to severe losses. Mission critical software in space exploration is one instance - those calculations performed by the software need to be near mm perfect to ensure the safety of the astronauts when travelling to the ISS for instance - imagine missing the target....

Version Control or Git could be explained as a camera for your code. Every time you make important changes to your project, you take a snapshot called a "commit." Git remembers all these snapshots, so if you ever need to, you can go back in time and revisit a previous version of your code. This means you can experiment without fear – if you mess something up, you can always revert to an older version. Git also lets you create "branches," which are like alternate timelines for your project. You can use a branch to test out a new feature without affecting the main version of your code. Finally, Git makes collaboration super easy. Multiple people can work on the same project, share their changes, and seamlessly combine their work.

GitHub is most popular version control tool now a days. GitLab or Git is also being used by different companies. Some companies also choose Azure Dev-Ops (ADO) which also has Git extension feature. You can also use all kind of Git commands in ADO. Most projects who used TFS (Teams Foundation Server) has migrated to ADO (Azure Dev-Ops).

Git is like a time machine for your code. It helps you track changes you make to your files over time, so you can rewind to previous versions if needed. GitHub, on the other hand, is like a community hub where you can share your code, collaborate with others, and contribute to open-source projects. It's like a social network for developers, where you can showcase your work and learn from others. Together, Git and GitHub form a powerful duo that helps developers manage and share their code effectively.

La elección de una herramienta de control de versiones apropiada es muy importante en el desarrollo de software. Las necesidades del proyecto y las preferencias del equipo marcarán la decisión de qué herramienta utilizar. Hay varias opciones en el mercado, aunque las más extendidas son: 1. Git, un sistema distribuido, permite un seguimiento preciso de cambios y colaboración eficiente. 2. GitHub, basado en Git, facilita la gestión remota y la colaboración en proyectos. 3. Subversion, a día de hoy menos popular, pero sigue siendo una herramienta sólida para control de versiones centralizado.

GitLab is an all-encompassing DevOps platform that streamlines software development and deployment. 1. Git-based version control for efficient team collaboration and code management. 2. A web interface for issue tracking, code review, and CI/CD pipelines, simplifying project management. 3. Automated CI/CD pipelines that speed up testing and deployment, ensuring high-quality builds. 4. Integrated project planning, monitoring, and security features for a comprehensive development workflow. GitLab supports a collaborative environment, making it easier for teams to deliver software efficiently.

Mocking, a very important skill to have, using mocking tools or building your own mocking environment, makes life easier when developing in multi-integrations (SOA/microservices/3rd parties) projects. Mainly when conducting many types of testing; integration, sanity, load, performance, on Pre-Prod environments.

Use IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate that boosts development with: Broad Language Support - Ideal for full-stack development with extensive language coverage. Ready-to-use support for frameworks like Spring, making app development faster. Database & SQL Tools:Directly manage databases within the IDE. Enhanced tools for Angular, React, and Vue.js projects. Performance Profiling: Built-in tools to optimize app performance. Seamless VCS Integration:Simplifies version control with Git and others. DevOps Tools:Docker, Kubernetes integration for streamlined deployment. 8. Boosted Productivity: Advanced coding assistance and debugging tools for efficient coding. Ultimate is for developers seeking a comprehensive, efficiency-driven development environment.

Il faut prendre en compte les outils liés à la qualité du code et des architectures Ainsi que ceux qui permettent de mesurer la complexité du code

In response to, "Which software design tools are the most popular for professionals?" ... "popular" you can calculate from a head count; "effective" is what I have found to come up with a solid, provable working design. For the latter, I'd go for a succinct and powerful tool, that lets you test every step of the way, then lets you transition to "powerful implementation" without losing testability in the transform. I start with APL/Prolog, and rewrite from the bottom up (C/C++/Go/Rust). The design assertions become the implementation.

Collaboration tools. Every CTO or architect needs a clearly managed and easy to collaborate way of expressing their vision, technology OKRs, design alternatives, coding guidelines, API spec, lessons learnt from recent past, cross team mandates, and coaching of tech thats round the corner or is being innovated. Atlassian Confluence does an amazing job especially after the many charting and drawing tool integrations. Atlassian JIRA (when stable!) has been the hallmark of agile development environments where technology leaders have been conveying their pin-pointed Acceptance criteria down to the line of design mandates, code, code reviews, unit tests, API standards, payload specs, and so on. Free[mium] tools are catching up but the need stays!