I’ve tried and used uml for 20 years. It’s hard to learn and a different way of thinking for many staff. I see a pattern of the business analyst / product owner /non-tech lead hiring someone to make uml for ver. That abstraction costs money and time and creates confusion.
So I think it’s not a worthwhile investment. The non-techs can’t create or edit and typically can’t read. The techs don’t use it for what they are creating.
I’d rather spend time on docs in the actual system components or teaching non-techs enough to read autogenerated docs or walk through code that actually is the system. Then couple that with block diagrams written on whiteboards or powerpoints or whatever. If you get to the point you need notations it’s too complicated and point them to the appropriate source.
This isn’t easy. But I think it’s easier than pretending that both sides learning an artificial middle language (uml, etc).
Because construction analogies are stereotypical if you are building a building. A big, expensive skyscraper. If your construction workers speak English and your financiers and architects speak French. I think you’re better off investing in hiring some people who speak both languages than in making them both speak German to work on blueprints.