Peter Coad
Peter Coad was influential in the early days of Java, writing books on modeling patterns and producing pattern driven coding tools. He was the founder of Object Internationl and later senior vice president and chief strategist at Borland Software.
One of his key contributions was the Universal Model, a pattern that he saw behind all object/data models. His practice was to start with the unviversal model, then remove those pieces that did not need to be implemented. The heart of the Universal Model is an activity (moment-interval), making his pattern very similar to business process modeling. A key difference is his seeing people and things related to the activity via roles. In a sales context, a person is related to the sale via the role of a customer or clerk. A geographic location relates to an activity via the role of a store, airport or farm plot.
Another key contribution was the use of color in modeling, identifying stereotypical objects (descriptions, roles, activities, things) with a color to help the patterns stand out. The colors came from using Post-It Notes for initial modeling exercises.
