>> For me it helps me the most with defining classes, assigning responsibilities to the appropriate object, and handling Processess cleanly.
>
>I'm particularly interested in your use of it with processes. I want to move to UML standards for object modeling, to use a commonly understood protocol (I've been happily drawing Booch clouds for a long time but, of course, they're obsolete), but am thinking that I can make my life easier by also using it for processes, particularly interactions. I find that visually mapping very dynamic interactions is a big challenge. Have you been able to satisfactorily model complex processes form several angles? IOW, does the clarity and efficiency of the "picture"using UML exceed that of old-fashioned text narrative?

Isabel,
Time to pull in info from the wiki on this discussion. First off, for general stuff relative here see http://fox.wikis.com/wc.dll?wiki~CategoryUML and http://fox.wikis.com/wc.dll?wiki~CategoryModeling

Now, regarding use of UML with Processes...
You need to read up on UML Sequence diagrams in regards to documenting processes. Here's info on the wiki: http://fox.wikis.com/wc.dll?wiki~SequenceDiagram.

The trick to using UML effectively to plan processes, is going from Use Case diagrams to Sequence Diagrams. I still struggle a little here in this area, as you'll see when you dig into the other info related to this on the wiki, see http://fox.wikis.com/wc.dll?wiki~UseCasesAndSequenceDiagrams and http://fox.wikis.com/wc.dll?wiki~UseCasesTransitionToDesign. Some folks use the good old familiar CRC Cards to go from Use Cases to Sequence Diagrams. I dont - I've yet to do any sort of CRC exercise where the end result was something I would call productive or useful. But I believe I'm the oddball minority here. What I do instead of CRC cards is translate my Use Cases into Class Diagrams, this has a double benefit for me personally because I'm a very Visual Person. I can make much more progress in identifying requirements with a slew of class diagrams in front of me than I can with a index card covered in chicken scratch. (Folks who know me well might pipe up here with all the usual wise cracks about my BIG TABLET at this point & ya'all can stuff it... I might be the only geek you ever met who pays $50 for a professional artist drawing tablet, but guess what - I Love My BIG TABLET!)

Now once I beat up on my class diagrams, then I turn only certain classes into Sequence Diagrams where ever I have a tricky conditional process.

As an aside, I have similar background to you with using other notation methods before using UML. I made the switch just because I spent five years in an Engineering Firm and have a deep appreciate for common (industry standard) notation. Just the fact that early on that was the stated goal of UML was enough to make me switch. But for you, I'm reading between the lines here... it sounds like your looking for a way to manage processes in the larger picture. If this is true you might want to look into the Unified Process (wiki - http://fox.wikis.com/wc.dll?wiki~RationalUnifiedProcess~softwareEng)

HTH