These groups are represented as file folders in the diagram. Systems or packages are UML artifacts that group different elements. They also represent a generalization of a use case. They represent a generalization of actors Relationship show association between actor and use case There can be five relationship types in a UML use case diagram. However, the inheriting use case must be placed below the parent use case to improve clarity. Like actors, use cases can also use inheritance. Use logical and descriptive action names for use cases.Īrrange the use cases in logical order so that the readability of the diagram is enhanced. The general guidelines for use cases are: If actors in your system need to interact with each other, you might consider a separate use case diagram to depict this interaction.Ī use case represents an action, and thus the names should begin with a verb. It is important to note that actors don’t interact with other actors. To enable quick highlighting of the critical roles in the system, you must place the primary actors on the left side of the diagram.Įxternal systems are also actors in your use case diagram. Also, use generalized names to make the modification and presentation simpler. Give meaningful and relevant names to the actors.

The general guidelines for identifying the actors are: An actor is a person, an organization, or an external system that interacts with the application being analyzed. In the analysis phase, these diagrams provide an outside view of a system by identifying the system's external and internal factors.Īctors are the external users that interact with a system. Use cases are also convenient in requirement gathering and documentation. Use case diagrams to represent the basic flow of events through use cases. Use case diagrams are used to define and organize functional requirements in a system along with specifying the context. They show how a user will trigger a response from the system and what is the expected response. They represent the end-user interaction goals and methods. UML use case diagrams are used for many purposes, for example: Thus, they provide a high-level analysis of the design from the outside without worrying about the functionality details. These requirements are later translated into design choices and development priorities.Īpart from the interaction model, use case diagrams also help to identify internal or external factors that can influence the workflow of the system. Use case diagrams to help to visualize the functional requirements of a system. It is represented by a dashed arrow in the direction of the included use case with the notation >.In UML, the purpose of a use case diagram is to demonstrate the different interaction methods for the end-user. Include relationship: The use case is mandatory and part of the base use case. It is represented by a dashed arrow in the direction of the base use case with the notation >. To represent complex relationships between different use cases, we can use the extend and include relationships.Įxtend relationship: The use case is optional and comes after the base use case. The use cases are functions performed by the actors interacting with the system. The actors are users or systems that interact with the main system and are represented by figures.

The system is represented by a box encompassing the use cases. The use case diagram displays three kinds of entities: the system, the actors, and the use cases. A use case diagram can be made for a general scenario or multiple scenarios that encapsulate the system’s functioning.

A UML use case diagram summarizes the interactions between a system and its users.

Use case diagram using staruml