 Tips on Use Cases
According
to Wikipedia.org –
A use case
is a technique used in software and systems engineering to capture the functional requirements of a system. Use
cases describe the interaction between a primary system actor—the initiator of
the interaction—and the system itself, represented as a sequence of simple
steps. Actors are something or someone which exist outside the
system under study, and who (or which) take part in a sequence of activities in
a dialogue with the system, to achieve some goal: they may be end users, other
systems, or hardware devices. Each use case is a complete series of events,
from the point of view of the actor.
According to
Bittner and Spence, "Use cases, stated simply, allow description of
sequences of events that, taken together, lead to a system doing something
useful." Each use case describes how the actor
will interact with the system to achieve a specific goal. One or more scenarios may be generated from each use case,
corresponding to the detail of each possible way of achieving that goal. Use
cases typically avoid technical jargon, preferring instead the language of the end user or domain
expert. Use cases are often co-authored by systems
analysts and end users. The UML use
case diagram can be used to graphically represent an overview of the use
cases for a given system.
Within systems
engineering, use cases are used at a higher level than within software
engineering, often representing missions or stakeholder
goals. The detailed requirements may then be captured in SysML requirement
diagrams or similar mechanisms.
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Author: Kevlin Henney
18 Jul 2007
A use case represents a case of use of a system, ideally one that captures a functional requirement in terms of an identifiable and testable goal. So, what is the best way to document a use case? Approaches to content range from diagrammatic to textual, formal to free form, expansive and detailed to brief and abstract. The approaches to tool usage and authoring are just as varied. Here are some suggestions for a simple and streamlined, yet reasoned and thorough, approach to use case documentation.
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Author: Karl E. Wiegers, Ph.D.
15 Feb 2007
Use cases have become a popular requirements development technique.
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Author: Paul Bowden, MKS
Publisher: Methods & Tools (April 2006)
This article shows how ULM use cases can help when eliciting requirements, documenting and planning the implementation of an ALM system.
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Author: Don Firesmith
Published by: Dr. Dobb’s Journal – Requirements Development E-Zine
Stories and use case path specifications are valuable tools for requirements elicitation, analysis, and validation.
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Author: David
Gelperin, LiveSpecs Software
Published by: Methods & Tools
This article describes a precise
form of UML use cases that promotes the requirements specification of
inter-actor options and alternative course conditions.
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Many books and papers have been written on the topic of use cases. In fact, the body of knowledge surrounding use cases is so large that it can be intimidating to the uninitiated. One of the barriers to successful adoption of use cases is navigating this abundance of information. This introductory paper discusses the background and benefits of use cases as well as two best practices for deploying use cases as a requirements management technique in your organization.
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