Use Case Diagrams: ©ian Sommerville 2004 Slide 1
Use Case Diagrams: ©ian Sommerville 2004 Slide 1
What is a Use Case
Illustrates the activities that are
performed by the users of the system
A sequence of actions a system performs that
yields a valuable result for a particular actor.
What is an Actor?
• A user or outside system that interacts
with the system being designed in order
to obtain some value from that
interaction
An Actor (NOT a part of the system)is
outside or external the system.
It can be a:
• Human
• Peripheral device (hardware)
• External system or subsystem
• Time or time-based event
Represented by stick figure
©Ian Sommerville 2004 Software Engineering, 7th edition. Chapter 4 Slide 44
Slide
Use Cases
Use case diagrams describe what a system
does from the standpoint of an external
observer. The emphasis is on what a system
does rather than how.
- The use case task referred to as the use case that
represents a feature needed in a software system.
- The actor(s) who trigger the use case to activate.
- The communication line to show how the actors
communicate with the use case.
A patient calls the clinic to make an appointment
for a yearly checkup. The receptionist finds the
nearest empty time slot in the appointment book
and schedules the appointment for that time slot. "
We want to write a use case for this scenario.
Remember: A use case is a summary of
scenarios for a single task or goal.
Step 1 Identify the actors
As we read the scenario, define those people or
systems that are going to interact with the
scenario.
A patient calls the clinic to make an appointment for a yearly checkup.
The receptionist finds the nearest empty time slot in the appointment
book and schedules the appointment for that time slot. "
So as we read our scenario, who is the
actor????
A patient calls the clinic to make an appointment for a yearly
checkup. The receptionist finds the nearest empty time slot in the
appointment book and schedules the appointment for that time
slot. "
The actor is a Patient.
The use case is a summary of scenarios for a
single task or goal.
So What is the Use Case????
The Use Case is Make Appointment.
It is a use case for the medical clinic.
tick figures. Use cases are ovals. Communications are lines that link actors
Actors are stick figures. Use cases are ovals. Communications are
lines that link actors to use cases.
©Ian Sommerville 2004 Software Engineering, 7th edition. Chapter 4 Slide
Slide 11
11
Use Case
Each use case in a use case diagram
describes one and only one function in
which users interact with the system
Make
Appointment
Make
Appointment
Make
Appointment