UseCase Book Part 1 PDF

CHAPTER 3 ■ Identifying User Stories and Use Cases 71 the functional requirements by creating a variety of models. These models are created as part of the analysis activity Define requirements, although remember that the analysis activities are actually done in parallel with design and implementat...

CHAPTER 3 ■ Identifying User Stories and Use Cases 71 the functional requirements by creating a variety of models. These models are created as part of the analysis activity Define requirements, although remember that the analysis activities are actually done in parallel with design and implementation and in each iteration of the project. In the Waiters on Call case, Sam Wells is working with the Bickfords to identify the functional requirements for the new system using the event decomposition technique. The sketch he was drawing was a use case diagram. You will learn about this technique and others that help identify user stories and use cases in this chapter. ■ User Stories and Use Cases user story one short sentence in the everyday language of the end user that states what a user does as part of his or her work As you saw in Chapter 1, identifying user stories and use cases is a key task when defining functional requirements because these form the basis for the list of functions the system needs to carry out. Virtually all recent approaches to system development begin the requirements modeling activity with the concept of a user story or a use case. These two concepts are similar in that they focus on the goals of the user, and they show the list of functions at the appropriate level of detail. But they differ in the approach taken to identify them and in the amount of detail that is captured by the analyst. User stories are favored by highly Agile system development methodologies, and they are turned over to the programmer analyst much earlier than use cases are. The programmer analyst designs and codes each user story to discover needed details. The Agile development philosophy is to work directly with users and avoid doing too much documentation. In contrast, a use case approach traditionally meant analysts complete much documentation for each use case, focusing on detailed steps carried out by the user and the system. In practice, use cases can also be very brief for Agile development. A user story is usually one short sentence in the everyday language of the end user that states what a user does as part of his or her work. In other words, a user story describes a goal the user has when using the system. User stories are a basic concept in Agile development because they focus on simplicity, value added, and user collaboration. They document the functional requirements quickly and less formally than traditional requirements modeling by focusing on who, what, and why for each function. The users and stakeholders are responsible for identifying the user stories. In meetings with stakeholders, analysts encourage participants to write out each user story on an index card or on a shared whiteboard app. The objective is to get a potential user to articulate what he or she wants to do with the new system. A standard template helps users think through what they want and why they want it. The standard template for a user story looks like this: “As a <role played>, I want to <goal or desire> so that <reason or benefit>.” For example, some user stories for a bank teller might be: ■ ■ “As a teller, I want to make a deposit to quickly serve more customers.” “As a teller, I want to balance the cash drawer to assure there were no errors.” As a customer of the bank using an ATM machine, some user stories might be: ■ ■ “As a bank customer, I want to withdraw cash and feel confident the stack of cash I get is the correct amount.” “As a bank customer, I want to deposit a check and feel confident the deposit is recorded correctly.” 72 PART 2 ■ Systems Analysis Activities acceptance criteria features that must be present in the final system for the user to be satisfied A final part of a user story is the acceptance criteria. These indicate the features that must be present for the user to be satisfied with the resulting implementation. They focus on functionality, not on features or user-interface design. For example, the following are the acceptance criteria for the user story “bank teller making a deposit”: 1. 2. 3. 4. Customer lookup must be by name or by account number. It would be nice to display photo and signature of customer. Any check hold requirements must be indicated. Current balance and new balance must be displayed. The programmer analyst uses the acceptance criteria to clarify the expectations of the user and to verify the user is looking at the user story at an appropriate level of analysis. When the user story is implemented and refined, the acceptance criteria are used for testing. Some consider it much like a contract between the developers and the users that limits controversy later in the project. Figure 3-1 shows two user stories handwritten on index cards. The first user story is for the bank teller example just discussed. The other user story is for a shipping clerk responsible for shipping the items on a new order for RMO. F 3-1 Two user stories with acceptance criteria User Story As a teller, I want to make a deposit to quickly serve more customers. Acceptance Criteria: 1. 2. 3. 4. Customer lookup must be by name or by account number. Nice to display photo and signature of customer. Any check hold requirements must be indicated. Current balance and new balance must be displayed. User Story As a shipping clerk, I want to ship an order as accurately as possible as soon as the order details are available. Acceptance Criteria: 1. 2. 3. 4. Available order details must pop up on the screen when available. Portable display and scan device would cut time in half. Sort the items by bin location. Indicate number of items in stock for each item and mark backorder for those not available. 5. Recommend shipper based on weight, size, and location. 6. Print out shipping label for selected shipper. CHAPTER 3 ■ Identifying User Stories and Use Cases use case an activity that the system performs in response to a request by a user ■ 73 A use case is an activity the system performs in response to a request by a user. In Chapter 1, the RMO Tradeshow System example had a list of uses that included Look up supplier, Enter/update product information, and Look up product information. Two techniques are recommended for identifying use cases: the user goal technique and the event decomposition technique. Use case techniques place the responsibility for identifying and detailing the requirements on the system developers. The developers typically interview all types of users and stakeholders, and then make and refine notes about each use case. Some of the more complex use cases are modeled in more detail by the developers before turning the uses cases over to the programmer analysts for design and implementation. Use Cases and the User Goal Technique user goal technique a technique to identify use cases by determining what specific goals or objectives must be completed by the system for the user “User stories will help analysts identify and define use cases, which are the primary focus of this chapter.” One approach to identifying use cases, called the user goal technique, is to ask users to describe their goals for using the new or updated system. The analyst first identifies all the users, categorizes them by user type, and then conducts a structured interview with each user. By focusing on one type of user at a time, the analyst can systematically address the problem of identifying use cases. During the interview, the analyst guides the user to identify specific ways the computer system could help the user perform his or her assigned tasks. The overarching objective is to identify what the system could do to improve the user’s performance and productivity. Subsidiary goals might include streamlining tasks the user currently performs, or enabling the user to perform new tasks that are not possible or practical with the current system. As these goals are uncovered and described, the analyst probes for specific requests from the user and desired responses from the proposed system, which the analyst documents as use cases. Although the users are the ultimate source of this information, they often require guidance from the analyst to think beyond the boundaries of the ways they currently approach their jobs. Consider various user goals for the R MO Consolidated Sales and Marketing System (CSMS) introduced in Chapter 2. In an example like this, the analyst might talk to the people in the Shipping Department to identify their specific goals. These might include: Ship items, Track shipment, and Create item return. The Marketing Department might identify goals like Add/update product information, Add/update promotion, and Produce sales history report. When considering the goals of the prospective customer, the analyst might ask RMO users from different departments to think about the system from the customer’s viewpoint and to imagine the value-added features and functions that would make RMO appealing and useful. Additionally, focus groups of actual customers might be formed to pinpoint their wants and needs. Goals identified for potential customers might include Search for item, Fill shopping cart, and View product rating and comments. Figure 3-2 lists a few of the user goals for potential users of the CSMS. Note that for the Shipping personnel, there is a use case named Ship order, which corresponds to the same user story identified in Figure 3-1. The user goal technique for identifying use cases includes these steps: 1. Identify all the potential users for the new system. 2. Classify the potential users in terms of their functional role (e.g., shipping, marketing, sales). 3. Further classify potential users by organizational level (e.g., operational, management, executive). PART 2 ■ Systems Analysis Activities FI 3-2 Identifying use cases with the user goal technique User User goal and resulting use case Potential customer Search for item Fill shopping cart View product rating and comments Marketing manager Add/update product information Add/update promotion Produce sales history report Shipping personnel Ship order Track shipment Create item return 4. Interview each type of user to determine the specific goals they will have when using the new system. Start with goals they currently have and then get them to imagine innovative functions they think would add value. Encourage them to state each goal in the imperative verb-noun form, such as Add customer, Update order, and Produce month-end report. 5. Create a list of preliminary use cases organized by type of user. 6. Look for duplicates with similar use case names and resolve inconsistencies. 7. Identify where different types of users need the same use cases. 8. Review the completed list with each type of user and then with interested stakeholders. ■ Use Cases and Event Decomposition event decomposition technique a technique to identify use cases by determining the business events to which the system must respond elementary business processes (EBP) the most fundamental task in a business process, which leaves the system and data in a quiescent state; usually performed by one person in response to a business event event something that occurs at a specific time and place, can be precisely identified, and must be remembered by the system The most comprehensive technique for identifying use cases is the event decomposition technique. The event decomposition technique begins by identifying all the business events the information system responds to, with each event leading to a use case. Starting with business events helps the analyst define each use case at the appropriate level of detail. For example, one analyst might identify a use case as typing in a customer name on a form. A second analyst might identify a use case as the entire process of adding a new customer. A third analyst might even define a use case as working with customers all day, which could include adding new customers, updating customer records, deleting customers, following up on late-paying customers, or contacting former customers. The first example is too narrow to be useful. Conversely, working with customers all day—the third example—is too broad to be useful. The second example defines a complete user goal, which is the right level of analysis for a use case. The appropriate level of detail for identifying use cases is one that focuses on elementary business processes (EBPs). An EBP is a task that is performed by one person in one place in response to a business event, adds measurable business value, and leaves the system and its data in a stable and consistent state. In Figure 3-2, the RMO CSMS potential customer use cases Search for item, Fill shopping cart, and View product rating and comments are good examples of elementary business processes. Fill shopping cart is a response to the business event “Customer wants to shop.” There is one person filling the cart, and there is measurable value for the customer as items are added to the cart. When the customer stops adding items and moves to another task, the system remembers the current cart and is ready to switch to the new task. Note that each EBP (and thus each use case) occurs in response to a business event. An event occurs at a specific time and place, can be described, and should be remembered by the system. Events drive or trigger all processing that a system does, so listing events and analyzing them makes sense when you need to define system requirements by identifying use cases. © Cengage Learning ® 74 CHAPTER 3 ■ Identifying User Stories and Use Cases 75 ■ Event Decomposition Technique When defining the requirements for a system, it is useful to begin by asking, “What business events occur that will require the system to respond?” By asking about the events that affect the system, you direct your attention to the external environment and look at the system as a black box. This means you don’t see the underlying functions, just the input and results. This initial perspective helps keep your focus on a high-level view of the system (looking at the scope), rather than on the inner workings of the system. It also focuses your attention on the system’s interfaces with outside people and other systems. Some events that are important to a retail store’s charge account processing system are shown in Figure 3-3. The functional requirements are defined by use cases based on six events. A customer triggers three events: “customer pays a bill,” “customer makes a charge,” and “customer changes address.” The system responds with three use cases: Record a payment, Process a charge, or Maintain customer data. Three other events are triggered inside the system by reaching a point in time: “time to send out monthly statements,” “time to send late notices,” and “time to produce end-of-week summary reports.” The system responds with use cases that carry out what it is time to do: Produce monthly statements, Send late notices, and Produce summary reports. Describing this system in terms of events keeps the focus of the charge account system on the business requirements and the elementary business processes. The result is a list of use cases triggered by business events at the right level of analysis. Using events to define functional requirements was first emphasized for real-time systems in the early 1980s. Real-time systems must react immediately FI 3-3 Events in a charge account processing system that lead to use cases © Cengage Learning ® Charge account processing system 76 PART 2 ■ Systems Analysis Activities to events in the environment. Early real-time systems include manufacturing process control systems and avionics guidance systems. For example, in process control, if a vat of chemicals is full, then the system needs to Turn off the fill valve. The relevant event is “vat is full,” and the system needs to respond to that event immediately. In an airplane guidance system, if the plane’s altitude drops below 5,000 feet, then the system needs to Turn on the low-altitude alarm. Most information systems now being developed are so interactive that they can be thought of as real-time systems. In fact, people expect a real-time response to almost everything. Thus, use cases for business systems are often identified by using the event decomposition technique. ■ Types of Events There are three types of events to consider when using the event decomposition technique to identify use cases: external events, temporal events, and state events (also called internal events). The analyst begins by trying to identify and list as many of these events as possible, refining the list while talking with system users. ❚ External Events actor an external agent; a person, group or external system that interacts with the system by supplying or receiving data FI 3-4 External event checklist An external event is an event that occurs outside the system—usually initiated by an external agent or actor. An external agent (or actor) is a person or organizational unit that supplies or receives data from the system. To identify the key external events, the analyst first tries to identify all the external agents that might want something from the system. A classic example of an external agent is a customer. The customer may want to place an order for one or more products. This event is of fundamental importance to an order-processing system, such as the one needed by Ridgeline Mountain Outfitters. But other events are associated with a customer. Sometimes, a customer wants to return an ordered product, or a customer needs to pay the invoice for an order. External events such as these define what the system needs to be able to do. They are events that lead to important transactions that the system must process. When describing external events, it is important to name the event so the external agent is clearly defined. The description should also include the action that the external agent wants to pursue. Thus, the event “Customer places an order” describes the external agent (a customer) and the action that the customer wants to take (to place an order for some products) that directly affects the system. Important external events can also result from the wants and needs of people or organizational units inside the company (e.g., management requests for information). A typical event in an order-processing system might be “Management wants to check order status.” Perhaps managers want to follow up on an order for a key customer; the system must routinely provide that information. Another type of external event occurs when external entities provide new information that the system simply needs to store for later use. For example, a regular customer reports a change in address, phone, or employer. Usually, one event for each type of external agent can be described to handle updates to data, such as “Customer needs to update account information.” Figure 3-4 provides a checklist to help in identifying external events. External events to look for include: √ External agent wants something resulting in a transaction √ External agent wants some information √ Data changed and needs to be updated √ Management wants some information © Cengage Learning ® external event an event that occurs outside the system, usually initiated by an external agent CHAPTER 3 ■ Identifying User Stories and Use Cases Temporal events to look for include: √ Internal outputs needed √ Management reports (summary or exception) √ Operational reports (detailed transactions) √ Internal statements and documents (including payroll) √ External outputs needed √ Statements, status reports, bills, reminders ❚ Temporal Events temporal event an event that occurs as a result of reaching a point in time A second type of event is a temporal event—an event that occurs as a result of reaching a point in time. Many information systems produce outputs at defined intervals, such as payroll systems that produce a paycheck every two weeks (or each month). Sometimes, the outputs are reports that management wants to receive regularly, such as monthly or weekly performance or exception reports. These events are different from external events in that the system should automatically produce the required output without being told to do so. In other words, no external agent or actor is making demands, but the system is supposed to generate information or other outputs when they are needed. The analyst begins identifying temporal events by asking about specific deadlines that the system must accommodate. What outputs are produced at that deadline? What other processing might be required at that deadline? In a payroll system, a temporal event might be named “Time to produce biweekly payroll.” The event defining the need for a monthly summary report might be named “Time to produce monthly sales summary report.” Figure 3-5 provides a checklist to use in identifying temporal events. Temporal events do not have to occur on a fixed date. They can occur after a defined period of time has elapsed. For example, a bill might be given to a customer when a sale has occurred. If the bill has not been paid within 15 days, the system might send a late notice. The temporal event “Time to send late notice” might be defined as a point 15 days after the billing date. ❚ State Events state event an event that occurs when something happens inside the system that triggers some process A third type of event is a state event—an event that occurs when something happens inside the system that triggers the need for processing. State events are also called internal events. For example, if the sale of a product results in an adjustment to an inventory record, and the inventory in stock drops below a reorder point, it is necessary to reorder. The state event might be named “Reorder point reached.” Often, state events occur as a consequence of external events. Sometimes, they are similar to temporal events, except the point in time cannot be defined. ■ Identifying Events Defining the events that affect a system is not always easy, but some guidelines can help an analyst think through the process. ❚ Events Versus Prior Conditions and Responses It is sometimes difficult to distinguish between an event and part of a sequence of prior conditions that leads up to the event. Consider a customer buying a shirt from a retail store (see Figure 3-6). From the customer’s perspective, this purchase involves a long sequence of events. The first event might be that the customer wants to get dressed. Then, the customer wants to wear a striped shirt. Next, the striped shirt appears to be worn out. The customer decides to drive to the mall, and he decides to go into Sears. Then, he tries on a striped shirt. At this point, the customer decides to leave Sears and go to Walmart to try on a © Cengage Learning ® FI 3-5 Temporal event checklist 77 78 PART 2 ■ Systems Analysis Activities Customer thinks about getting a new shirt Customer drives to the mall Customer tries on a shirt at Sears Customer goes to Walmart Customer tries on a shirt at Walmart Customer buys a shirt shirt. Finally, the customer wants to purchase the shirt. The analyst has to think through such a sequence to arrive at the point where an event directly affects the system. In this case, the system is not affected until the customer is in the store, has a shirt in hand ready to purchase, and says “I want to buy this shirt.” In other situations, it is not easy to distinguish between an external event and the system’s response. For example, when the customer buys the shirt, the system requests a credit card number and then the customer supplies the credit card. Is the act of supplying the credit card an event? In this case, no; it is part of the interaction that occurs while completing the original transaction. The way to determine whether an occurrence is an event or whether it is part of the interaction following the event is by asking if any long pauses or intervals occur (i.e., can the system transaction be completed without interruption?). Or is the system at rest again, waiting for the next transaction? After the customer wants to buy the shirt (the event), the process continues until the transaction is complete. There are no significant stops after the transaction begins. After the transaction is complete, the system is at rest, waiting for the next transaction to begin. The EBP concept defined earlier describes this as leaving the system and its data in a consistent state. On the other hand, separate events occur when the customer buys the shirt by using his store credit card account. When the customer pays the bill at the end of the month, is the processing part of the interaction involving the purchase? In this case, no; the system records the transaction and then does other things. It does not halt all processes to wait for the payment. A separate event occurs later that results in sending the customer a bill. (This is a temporal event: “Time to send monthly bills.”) Eventually, another external event occurs (“Customer pays the bill”). ❚ The Sequence of Events: Tracing a Transaction’s Life Cycle A useful method for identifying events is to trace the sequence of events that might occur for a specific external agent or actor. In the case of Ridgeline Mountain Outfitters’ new CSMS, the analyst can think through all the possible transactions that might result from one new customer (see Figure 3-7). First, the customer wants a catalog or asks for some information about item availability, resulting in a name and address being added to the database. Then, the customer might want to place an order. Perhaps he or she will want to change the order—for example, correcting the size of the shirt or buying another shirt. © Cengage Learning ® FI 3-6 Sequence of actions that lead up to only one event affecting the system CHAPTER 3 ■ Identifying User Stories and Use Cases 79 FI 3-7 The sequence of “transactions” for one specific customer resulting in many events Customer wants to check item availability Customer wants to check order status Customer places an order Customer updates account information Customer changes or cancels an order Customer returns the item © Cengage Learning ® Customer requests a catalog Next, the customer might want to check the status of an order to find out the shipping date. Perhaps the customer has moved and wants an address change recorded for future catalog mailings. Finally, the customer might want to return an item. Thinking through this type of sequence can help identify events. ❚ Technology-Dependent Events and System Controls system controls checks or safety procedures to protect the integrity of the system and the data perfect technology assumption the assumption that a system runs under perfect operating and technological conditions Sometimes, the analyst is concerned about events that are important to the system, but do not directly concern users or transactions. Such events typically involve design choices or system controls. During analysis, the analyst should temporarily ignore these events. However, they are important later for design. Some examples of events that affect design issues include external events that refer to the physical system, such as logging on. Although important to the final operation of the system, such implementation details should be deferred. At this stage, the analyst should focus only on the functional requirements (i.e., the work that the system needs to complete). A functional requirements model does not need to indicate how the system is actually implemented, so the model should omit the implementation details. Most of these physical system events involve system controls, which are checks or safety procedures put in place to protect the integrity of the system. For example, logging on to a system is required because of system security controls. Other controls protect the integrity of the database, such as backing up the data every day. These controls are important to the system, and they will certainly be added to the system during design. But spending time on system controls during analysis only adds details to the requirements model that users are not typically very concerned about; they trust the system developers to take care of such details. One way to help decide which events apply to system controls is to assume that technology is perfect. The perfect technology assumption states that events should be included during analysis only if the system would be required to respond under perfect conditions (i.e., with equipment never breaking down, capacity for processing and storage being unlimited, and people operating the system being completely honest and never making mistakes). By pretending that technology is perfect, analysts can eliminate events like “Time to back up the database” because they can assume that the disk will never crash. Again, during design, the project team adds these controls because technology is obviously not perfect. Figure 3-8 lists some examples of events that can be deferred until the developer is designing in system controls. 80 PART 2 ■ Systems Analysis Activities Don’t worry much about these until you are considering design issues User wants to log on to the system User wants to change the password User wants to change preference settings System crash requires database recovery Time to back up the database Time to require the user to change the password © Cengage Learning ® FI 3-8 Events deferred until designing system controls ■ Steps in the Event Decomposition Technique To summarize, the event decomposition technique for identifying use cases includes these steps: 1. Consider the external events in the system environment that require a response from the system by using the checklist shown in Figure 3-4. 2. For each external event, identify and name the use case that the system requires. 3. Consider the temporal events that require a response from the system by using the checklist shown in Figure 3-5. 4. For each temporal event, identify and name the use case that the system requires and then establish the point of time that will trigger the use case. 5. Consider the state events that the system might respond to, particularly if it is a real-time system in which devices or internal state changes trigger use cases. 6. For each state event, identify and name the use case that the system requires and then define the state change. 7. When events and use cases are defined, check to see if they are required as part of analysis by using the perfect technology assumption. Do not include events that involve such system controls as login, logout, change password, and backup or restore the database, as these are put in as system controls. ■ Use Cases in the Ridgeline Mountain Outfitters Case The RMO CSMS involves a variety of use cases, many of them just discussed. The analysts working on the new system have used all three techniques for identifying, validating, and refining use cases. The initial system vision (discussed in Chapter 2) identified four subsystems: the Sales subsystem, the Order Fulfillment subsystem, the Customer Account subsystem, and the Marketing subsystem. As work progressed, the analysts combined reports required by each subsystem into a fifth subsystem called the Reporting subsystem. In a system this size, the analyst should organize the use cases by subsystem to help track