> But as it turned out, that was a false premise. The real blueprints for software ended up being the code itself. And the legacy of UML lives on in simpler boxes and arrow diagrams.

IMO the bad rap UML gets is undeserved. The value of a detailed design in UML may be limited. But high level design elements like use case diagrams, sequence diagrams, activity diagrams - these are super useful.

Simpler "boxes and arrow diagrams" are fine but it's nice to have some consistency in the visual representation of these elements.