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UML Tutorial
UML Tutorial
UML defines the notation and semantics for the following domains:
● The User Interaction or Use Case Model - describes the
boundary and interaction between the system and users.
Corresponds in some respects to a requirements model. (see
Part 2 of this tutorial expands on how you use the UML to define
and build actual systems.
For some further reading see the following white papers (in PDF
format):
● Business Process Modelling
ExyBar Use Cases are typically related to 'actors'. An actor is a human or machine entity that interacts with the system to perform
meaningful work.
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Actors
An Actor is a user of the system. This includes both human users and other computer systems. An Actor uses a Use Case to
perform some piece of work which is of value to the business. The set of Use Cases an actor has access to defines their overall
role in the system and the scope of their action.
One Use Case may include the functionality of another as part of its normal processing. Generally, it is assumed that the
A Use Case may be included by one or more Use Cases, so it helps to reduce duplication of functionality by factoring out
common behaviour into Use Cases that are re-used many times.
One Use Case may extend the behaviour of another - typically when exceptional circumstances are encountered. For example, if
before modifying a particular type of customer order, a user must get approval from some higher authority, then the <get
approval> Use Case may optionally extend the regular <modify order> Use Case.
Sequence Diagrams
UML provides a graphical means of depicting object interactions over time in Sequence Diagrams. These typically show a user
or actor, and the objects and components they interact with in the execution of a use case. One sequence diagram typically
represents a single Use Case 'scenario' or flow of events.
Sequence diagrams are an excellent way to document usage scenarios and to both capture required objects early in analysis and
to verify object usage later in design. Sequence diagrams show the flow of messages from one object to another, and as such
correspond to the methods and events supported by a class/object.
The diagram illustrated below shows an example of a sequence diagram, with the user or actor on the left initiating a flow of
events and messages that correspond to the Use Case scenario. The messages that pass between objects will become class
operations in the final model.
Implementation Diagram
A Use Case is a formal description of functionality the system will have when constructed. An implementation diagram is
typically associated with a Use Case to document what design elements (eg. components and classes) will implement the Use
Case functionality in the new system. This provides a high level of traceability for the system designer, the customer and the
team that will actually build the system. The list of Use Cases that a component or class is linked to documents the minimum
functionality that must be implemented by the component.
The example above shows that the Use Case "Login" implements the formal requirement "1.01 Log on to the website". It also
states that the Business Logic component and ASP Pages component implement some or all of the Login functionality. A further
refinement is to show the Login screen (a web page) as implementing the Login interface. These implementation or realisation
links define the traceability from the formal requirements, through Use Cases on to Components and Screens.
Dynamic Model
Product Info The dynamic model is used to express and model the behaviour of the system over time. It includes support for activity diagrams, state
Enterprise Architect (EA) diagrams, sequence diagrams and extensions including business process modelling.
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Sequence Diagrams
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Sequence diagrams are used to display theinteraction between users, screens, objects and entities within the system. It provides a sequential map
ExyBar of message passing between objects over time. Frequently these diagrams are placed under Use Cases in the model to illustrate the use case
scenario - how a user will interact with the system and what happens internally to get the work done. Often, the objects are represented using
special stereotyped icons, as in the example below. The object labelled Login Screen is shown using the User Interface icon. The object labelled
Related Info SecurityManager is shown using the Controller icon. The Object labelled users is shown using the Entity icon.
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Activity Diagrams
Activity diagrams are used to show how different workflows in the system are constructed, how they start and the possibly many decision paths
that can be taken from start to finish. They may also illustrate the where parallel processing may occur in the execution of some activities.
Process Model
A process model is a UML extension of an activity diagram used to model a business process - this diagram shows what goal the process has,
the inputs, outputs, events and information that are involved in the process.
Logical Model
Product Info A logical model is a static view of the objects and classes that make up the design/analysis space. Typically, a Domain Model is
Enterprise Architect (EA) a looser, high level view of Business Objects and entities, while the Class Model is a more rigorous and design focused model.
This discussion relates mainly to the Class Model
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EA Pricing The Class Model
ExyBar A Class is a standard UML construct used to detail the pattern from which objects will be produced at run-time. A class is a
specification - an object an instance of a class. Classes may be inherited from other classes (that is they inherit all the behaviour
and state of their parent and add new functionality of their own), have other classes as attributes, delegate responsibilities to
Related Info other classes and implement abstract interfaces.
Links The Class Model is at the core of object-oriented development and design - it expresses both the peristent state of the system and
UML Tutorial the behaviour of the system. A class encapsulates state (attributes) and offers services to manipulate that state (behaviour). Good
object-oriented design limits direct access to class attributes and offers services which manipulate attributes on behalf of the
caller. This hiding of data and exposing of services ensures data updates are only done in one place and according to specific
Tech Support rules - for large systems the maintenance burden of code which has direct access to data elements in many places is extremely
high.
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The class is represented as below:
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Class inheritance is shown as below: an abstract class in this case, is the parent of two children, each of which inherits the base
class features and extends it with their own behaviour
Component Model
Product Info The component model illustrates the software components that will be used to build the system. These may be built up from the
Enterprise Architect (EA) class model and written from scratch for the new system, or may be brought in from other projects and 3rd party vendors.
Components are high level aggregations of smaller software pieces, and provide a 'black box' building block approach to
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software construction.
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Component Notation
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A component may be something like an ActiveX control - either a user interface control or a business rules server. Components
are drawn as the following diagram shows:
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The component diagram shows the relationship between software components, their dependencies, communication, location and
other conditions.
Interfaces
Components may also expose interfaces. These are the visible entry points or services that a component is advertising and
making available to other software components and classes. Typically a component is made up of many internal classes and
packages of classes. It may even be assembled from a collection of smaller components.
A deployment diagram illustrates the physical deployment of the system into a production (or test) environment. It shows where
components will be located, on what servers, machines or hardware. It may illustrate network links, LAN bandwidth & etc.
Requirements
Components may have requirements attached to indicate their contractual obligations - that is, what service they will provide in
the model. Requirements help document the functional behaviour of software elements.
Constraints
Components may have constraints attached which indicate the environment in which they operate. Pre-conditions specify what
must be true before a component can perform some function; post-conditions indicate what will be true after a component has
done some work and Invariants specify what must remain true for the duration of the components lifetime.
Scenarios
Scenarios are textual/procedural descriptions of an objects actions over time and describe the way in which a component works.
Multiple scenarios may be created to describe the basic path (a perfect run through) as well as exceptions, errors and other
conditions.
Traceability
You may indicate traceability through realisation links. A component may implement another model element (eg. a use case) or
http://www.sparxsystems.com.au/component_model.htm (3 of 6) [10/9/2001 11:11:52 AM]
UML Component Model
a component may be implemented by another element (eg. a package of classes). By providing realisation links to and from
components you can map the dependencies amongst model elements and the traceability from the initial requirements to the
final implementation.
An Example
The following example shows how components may be linked to provide a conceptual/logical view of a systems construction.
This example is concerned with the server and security elements of an on-line book store. It includes such elements as the web
server, firewall, ASP pages & etc.
Server Components
This diagram illustrates the layout of the main server side components that will require building for an on-line book store. These
components are a mixture of custom built and purchased items which will be assembled to provide the required functionality.
Security Components
The security components diagram shows how security software such as the Certificate Authority, Browser, Web server and
other model elements work together to assure security provisions in the proposed system.
Physical Model
Product Info The Physical/Deployment Model provides a detailed model of the way components will be deployed across the system
Enterprise Architect (EA) infrastructure. It details network capabilities, server specifications, hardware requirements and other information related to
deploying the proposed system.
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A node is used to depict any server, workstation or other host hardware used to deploy components into the production
environment. You may also specify the links between nodes and assign stereotypes (such as TCP/IP) and requirements to them.
Nodes may also have performance characteristics, minimum hardware standards, operating system levels & etc. documented.
The screen below illustrates the common properties you can set for a node.
Process Models
Business Process
Process:
A business process is a collection of activities designed to produce a specific output for a particular customer or market. It
implies a strong emphasis on how the work is done within and organization, in contrast to a product's focus on what. A process
is thus a specific ordering of work activities across time and place, with a beginning, an end, and clearly defined inputs and
● Stateflow link from event Event. A stateflow link indicates some object is passed into a business process. It captures the
passing of control to another entity or process, with the implied passing of state or information from activity to activity.
Figure 1 : Workflow
Goal
Object:
A business process has some well defined goal. This is the reason the organization does this work, and should be defined in terms of the benefits this
process has for the organization as a whole and in satisfying the business needs.
Connections
Information
Object:
Business processes use information to tailor or complete their activities. Information, unlike resources, is not consumed in the process - rather it is
used as part of the transformation process. In formation may come from external sources, from customers, from internal organizational units and may
even be the product of other processes.
Connections
● Supply link to activity Business Process. A supply link indicates that the information or object linked to the process is not used up in the
processing phase. For example, order templates may be used over and over to provide new orders of a certain style - the templates are not
altered or exhausted as part of this activity.
Output
Object:
A business process will typically produce one or more outputs of value to the business, either for internal use of to satisfy external requirements. An
output may be a physical object (such as a report or invoice), a transformation of raw resources into a new arrangement (a daily schedule or roster) or
an overall business result such as completing a customer order.
An output of one business process may feed into another process, either as a requested item or a trigger to initiate new activities.
Connections
● Stateflow link from activity Business Process
Resource
Object:
A resource is an input to a business process, and, unlike information, is typically consumed during the processing. For example, as each daily train
service is run and actuals recorded, the service resource is 'used up' as far as the process of recording actual train times is concerned.
Connections
● Supply link to activity Business Process. An input link indicates that the attached object or resource is consumed in the processing procedure.
As an example, as customer orders are processed they are completed and signed off, and typically are used only once per unique resource
(order).