Topics
The activity diagram notation is further explained in Technique: Activity Diagram in the Business Use Case Model. This page exemplifies
how the notation is applied to describe a business use case realization.
An activity diagram of a business use case realization explores the ordering of tasks that accomplish business goals,
and that satisfy commitments between external business actors and internal business workers. A task may be manual
automated and completes a unit of work.
Activity diagrams help:
-
Provide a rationale for and understanding of the introduction of information systems into the business.
-
Establish objectives for system development projects to implement business transformation initiatives.
-
Justify automation investment based on detailed business process metrics.
Compared to a sequence diagram, which could be perceived as having a similar purpose, an activity diagram with
swimlanes and object flows focuses on how you divide responsibilities into classes, whereas the sequence diagram helps
you understand how objects interact and in what sequence. Activity diagrams focus on the workflow, while sequence
diagrams focus on handling business entities. Activity diagrams and sequence diagrams could be used as complementary
techniques, where a sequence diagram shows what happens in an activity state.
If
you are using swimlanes and the swimlanes are coupled to classes (mainly business workers) in the business analysis
model, you are using the activity diagram to document business use case realizations, rather than business use cases.
As an example, we show an activity diagram of the realization of the business use case Proposal process, which you can
find described Guideline: Business Use Case.
The realization of the business use case Proposal Process
The activity diagram provides the details of what happens within the business by examining people playing specific
roles (the business workers) and the tasks they perform. For application-development projects, these diagrams provide a
detailed understanding of the business area that will be supported or impacted by the new application. They help
establish connection points to the proposed new system, and these connection points give rise to system use
cases.
In this context, object
flows are used to show how business entities are created and used in a workflow. Object flows allow you to show inputs
and outputs from activity states in an activity graph. There are two elements to the notation:
-
The object flow state represents an object of a class that participates in the workflow the activity graph
represents. The object may be the output of one task and the input of many other tasks.
-
The object flow is a kind of control flow with an object flow state as input or an output.
The object flow symbol represents the existence of an object in a particular state, not just the object itself. The
same object can be manipulated by a number of successive tasks that change the object's state. The object can then be
displayed multiple times in an activity graph, with each appearance representing a different state during its life. The
object's state at each point may be placed in brackets and appended to the name of the class.
A generic sales process presented using object flows to show how an order changes it state while executing the
workflow. See Technique: Activity Diagram in the Business Use Case Model
An object flow state may appear as the target of one object flow (transition) and the source of multiple object flows
(transitions).
An activity diagram for the Proposal process, using object flows to show key business entities involved
Object flows can be compared to data flows within the workflow of a business use case. Unlike traditional data flows,
however, object flows exist at a definite point within an activity graph.
Class diagrams show associations, aggregations and generalizations between business workers and business entities. The
following kinds of class diagrams might be of interest:
-
Inheritance hierarchies.
-
Aggregates of business workers and business entities.
-
How business workers and entities are related by means of associations.
Class diagrams show generic structures in the business domain model, but can also be part of the documentation of a
business use case realization (see Technique: Business Use Case Realization) by showing it participating business workers
and business entities.
A class diagram showing participating business workers and business entities in the business use case Individual
Check-in.
A communication diagram is semantically identical to a sequence diagram, but focuses on the objects, while the latter
focuses on the interactions. A communication diagram should present the subset of objects relevant to the affected
working sequence, including their links, messages, and message sequences.
A sequence diagram graphically depicts the details of the interaction among business workers, business actors, and how
business entities are accessed, during the performance of a business use case. A sequence diagram briefly describes
what the participating business workers do, and how the business entities are manipulated, in terms of activations, and
how they communicate by sending messages to one another.
A sequence diagram of part of an Individual Check-in business use case.
The same information that can be found in a sequence diagram can be presented in a communication diagram instead.
Generally, you can use a state diagram to illustrate which states a business worker or a business entity can have - the
events that cause a transition from one state to another; and the actions that result from a state change. A statechart
diagram often simplifies the validation of the class design.
For each state that an object of the class can enter, a diagram shows the messages it can receive, the actions to be
carried out, and the state the object of the class will be in thereafter.
The business entity Baggage described with a statechart diagram.
|