relating Use Cases to Activities/Actions

[John_WSP]

Hi all...

I am attempting to model the realisation of use cases by reference to the actions or activities that implement them.  I have created Use Case diagrams, Activity diagrams and Block Definition diagram to show the relationships.  I'm attempting to use the Operation and Attribute Features of use case blocks/classes to show existing Actions/Activities and Artefacts but I can't see how to do that.  Is this the correct modelling approach; how should I proceed; is there a better way?

Cheers

[Geert Bellekens]

To be fair, there are many ways to do that, and EA allows all of them.

There is not really a standard for that I know of, and I've seen this type or traceability implemented in many different ways.

Personally I mostly use
- «trace» if it's a link between two elements
- tagged values (type refGUID) if it's between other stuff. (operations, relations, attributes, ...)

Geert

[John_WSP]

Thanks for responding Geert - my aim is to show the actions/activities and artefacts in the Operations and Attributes compartments of the Element in the bdd.  As far as I can tell, your suggestions don't achieve that.

[Richard Freggi]

Is this the correct modelling approach: no
How should I proceed: read up on use cases (search the forum, books have been mentioned); then specify how a use case is realized via a sequence diagram (not an activity diagram)
Is there a better way: yes, see above.  Use cases only show stakeholder goals. Seems like for what you want to do you need to work with sequence and class diagrams

Good luck!

[John_WSP]

Thanks for the pointers Richard.  I'm a little confused though; my understanding is that sequence diagrams show the relationships between processes (when process modelling) not which process(es) realises which use case.  The latter is what I am attempting to document. 

[Richard Freggi]

Nope.  Search this forum, several recommendations on good UML books have been made.

[John_WSP]

Thanks Richard - my problem is not with understanding UML or SysML but rather the implementation in Sparx EA.  I shall continue my researches.

[Modesto Vega]

Richard -  this sounds to me like a traceability matrix with requirements rather than a diagram. It is the same data but represented in a different way.

Having said this and risking stating the obvious, something you most likely already know, a use case diagram is not the same as a use case element and activity diagram is not the same as an activity element. Matrices depict relationship between elements and AFIK can’t depict relationships between elements and diagrams, or between packages and diagrams.