401 Lec 3

UML (Unified Modeling Language)

• UML is a standardized method of visualizing system design.
• UML aids in understanding, documenting, and communicating software systems' structure and behavior.
• UML is a blueprint for software, visualizes architecture, and improves communication.

Use Case Diagram

• Visually represents interactions between actors and system functionalities developed (functional requirements).
• Actors can be users, external systems, or any entity outside the system.
• Key elements:
  • Actors represent entities interacting with the system.
  • Use cases represent system functionalities.
  • Relationships illustrate the connections Include and Extend.
• Include adds mandatory functionality and represents additional behaviors that are always part of the base use case.
• Extends adds additional functionality to a use case, typically representing alternative or optional flows.
• Generalization passes along characteristics and behaviors of use cases and actors.

Requirements Traceability Matrix (RTM)

• RTMs provide accountability to project requirements, mapping out the relationship between requirements, architecture, and project work.
• RTMs link to the design, facilitate communication, and manage changes.
• RTMs prove that predetermined project requirements are met, while providing a record completed items.

RTM Components

• Requirement ID: A unique identifier for each requirement (e.g., REQ-001).
• Requirement Description: a clear statement of what the requirement entails.
• Source: Origin of the requirement (e.g., stakeholder, regulation).
• Design Reference: the part of the system or document that addresses the requirement.
• Test Cases: Tests that validate the requirement has been met.
• Status: Current status of the requirement (e.g., in progress, completed and verified).

RTM Process

• Requirement Identification: Start with a list of all requirements during the project's initial stages.
• Traceability Links: Establish links between requirements and other project artifacts.
• Bidirectional Traceability: enables tracing requirements backward to their sources and forward to other artifacts.
• Quality Assurance: Link requirements to test cases.
• Change Management: create a strategy to see any project requirements that have been met.
• Communication/Collaboration: Design RTM to promote communication.

UML & RTM

• UML diagrams help visualize how requirements are implemented.
• RTM ensures that all components in UML diagrams are tied back to specific requirements.
• Components:
  • Forward Traceability
  • Backward Traceability
  • Bilateral Traceability

UML & RTM Challenges

• Combining UML Diagrams and RTM creates a strong link between requirements and system design, ensuring that all functional and non-functional requirements are met and validated.
• UML needing updates and RTM complexity are challenges.

Class Diagrams

• It serves as a visual representation of the key components of a system.
• Includes classes, attributes, methods, and relationships between those classes.
• Motivation is to make it easier to manage the complexity of a system by turning it into logical units.
• Main elements:
  • System units
  • Data Flow
  • Restrictions

Classes

• Class Name: Represents an entity or concept in the system.
• Attributes: are characteristics or properties of the class (e.g., name, email, price) and represents the state of the class.
• Methods/Operations: Functions or behaviors the class can perform and represents the behavior of the class.

Class Relationships

• Association: Represents general relationships between two classes.
• Generalization: Represents a hierarchical relationship.
• Aggregation: Represents a whole-part relationship.
• Composition: A stronger form of aggregation.

Attributes

• Public (+): Accessible by any class in the project.
• Private (-): Accessible only within the class itself.
• Protected (#): Accessible by the class and any subclasses.

Explore UML, a standardized method for visualizing system design, aiding in understanding and documenting software systems. Focusing on use case diagrams, learn to represent interactions between actors and system functionalities. Understand key elements like actors and include/extend relationships.