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A use case diagram documents a scenario or the flow of events and operations performed by a system or person. A component diagram documents the system hardware and software components. Study the examples in this section.

Unified Modeling Language 

  • Graphical, object-oriented modeling language. Its uses are:
    • Sketch language to define system requirements
    • Blueprint language for system design
    • Implementation language to automatically generate software
  • Open standard, managed by Object Management Group
    • Many implementations of UML (Microsoft, IBM, Visual Paradigm)
  • Why is UML in wide use? 
    • Speeds up requirements and design processes
    • Lessens information loss between requirements and design processes, and between design and implementation
    • Clearer than natural language
      • Provides a level of precision, but avoids details
      • Helps bridge language barriers in global projects
    • Supports iterative development (i.e., spiral model)
      • Supports both high level requirements/design in early spirals and detailed requirements/design later
    • Step toward analysts producing software without programmers


Unified Modeling Language uses

  • Requirements: 
  • Use case diagrams, which show multiple use cases or scenarios used to define system requirements 
    • A use case is a sequence of operations performed by a system or person that produces a measurable result for an actor
    • Use cases are initiated by a user wanting to do something 
    • Use cases record all possible events in system to achieve actor goals
  • Component diagrams, which show the hardware and software components of the system (what kind, how many, where…) 
  • Class diagrams, which show multiple objects or things in a system, and the relationships between them 
    • Derived from data models, which we cover in next unit
  • Design: 
    • More detailed use case, class, and component diagrams
    • Activity and/or sequence diagrams, used to model workflows, to find related or duplicate processes that can be generalized 
    • State diagrams for complex objects
  • Implementation: 
    • Class, state and other diagrams (vendor-specific)


Use cases 

  • Use case modeling is process of describing behavior of system from external point of view 
    • Use case describes what a system does, not how it does it 
    • Emphasizes modeling external, not internal, point of view to focus on requirements, not implementation
    • Captures requirements of system as list of structured scenarios
    • Use cases are the basic unit of requirements definition
    • Actor in use case can be person, computer/device or external system
      • Actor represents group of users or role, not specific individual
Use case example 1

Use case example 1

Nothing is implied by the order of the use cases; they are not sequential


Use case example 2

Use case example 2

* "Include" vs "extend" discussed later

Use case exercise 

  • Exercise: medical appointment management system
  • List the use cases (scenarios) in a medical visit
    • May see nurse, doctor and/or lab technician
    • May have tests (blood work, urine sample, etc.)
    • May have immunizations/shots
    • May get prescription • May get referral to specialist 
    • Etc. 
  • Draw use cases, actors, "include" or generalize to link related use cases
    • Don't use ‘extends' for now, to keep it simple
Use case solution

Use case solution


Summary- use case diagrams

Element Definition
Use case Set of operations performed by/in system that produces measurable result for an actor
Actor Set of roles that users (can be a system) play
System Boundary between a software/hardware/manual system and other actors or systems
Association Participation of an actor in a use case
Generalization Relationship between general and more specific actor or use case. Arrow points to general use case or actor
Include Variation on base use case
Extend Some modelers (not us) make the following distinction:
Include is used when a common use case is inserted in
two or more base cases: e.g., "login" used both by "make
reservation" and "cancel reservation"
Extend is used when a variation is inserted in only one
base case: e.g., "make multiple reservations" extends
"make reservation"

Component diagram exercise

  • Component diagrams
    • List all the "things" in a system
    • Used to set system scope, prerequisites, stakeholders 
  • Medical appointment components: 
    • Labs, lab equipment 
    • Offices for nurse/doctor, and their equipment
    • Computer systems 
    • Etc.
  • Draw component diagram for medical appointment 
  • Use only components and generic connectors in the UML diagram
    • Focus on the lab equipment, databases, and other systems
    • Begin to make decisions on what is included within your system scope and what is excluded

Component diagram example

Component diagram example


Component diagram solution

Component diagram solution

Summary

  • Use cases
    • Use case is a scenario or set of steps to achieve a goal
    • Use case diagram contains all relevant scenarios for a system (or system component)
    • Diagram helps capture full list of scenarios, and summarizes them compactly
    • Write short (1 page) descriptions of each scenario next, after creating use case diagrams 
      • Or build use cases from written requirements if present 
    • Use UML interactively with stakeholders in setting requirements
    • A text document listing scenarios wouldn't work 
  • Component diagrams 
    • List all the "things" in a system
    • Used to set system scope, prerequisites, stakeholders
    • Usually much simpler to create than use case diagram

Source: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/1-264j-database-internet-and-systems-integration-technologies-fall-2013/35bbe73255288a5ddecfbd3cc8bbc8f9_MIT1_264JF13_lect_6.pdf
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Last modified: Friday, December 8, 2023, 12:53 PM