3/23/2021 0 Comments Activity Diagram Doctor
Perhaps it is possible that the barista might run out of the ingredients necessary to prepare the beverage.The Business Analysis Body of Knowledge (BABOK) defines a workflow model as a visual representation of the flow of work in a business area.Workflow models are used to document how work processes are carried out, and to find opportunities for process improvement.BABOK, v1.6, Section 5.13.7.1) The BABOK does not prescribe a specific notation for workflow models, although the use of a standard notation is suggested.
Therefore, it is essential for the practicing BA to understand how workflow models can be represented in UML (Booch, Rumbaugh, and Jacobson, 2005). While the basic notation looks similar to the traditional flow chart, it does contain many significant differences as well as numerous enhancements that make the Activity Diagram preferable in practice. The remainder of this article will present some of the most salient notational devices and their practical application in workflow modeling and business process analysis. It is important to realize that not all of the symbology of UML is necessary for building effective workflow models. Of course, there are a number of other UML diagrams that are also important for business analysis, including the use case diagram for user requirements modeling, the class diagram for data modeling, and the state diagram for complex business rule modeling. The discussion of these diagrams is beyond the scope of this article, but will be addressed in subsequent articles. A basic Activity Diagram for workflow modeling consists of the following elements. We are going to model the process of fulfilling an order for a beverage at an upscale coffee shop. It is connected to the next activity in the workflow sequence by a solid line with an open arrow. ![]() The start of a workflow is indicated with a start activity (filled circle) while the end is indicated with a terminal activity (filled circle with another circle around it). While color is useful in distinguishing semantics, it is not a part of UML syntax. Figure 2 shows the entire workflow with the activities placed into partitions that indicate which person is responsible for those activities. Note that the placement of the activity nodes has no meaning, although it is a convention to keep the flow going from left to right and from top to bottom. The workflow starts with a special start (or initial) activity and end with a final activity. In the UML Activity Diagram, a decision is shown graphically with a diamond shaped icon from which at least two control flows emanate. Each control flow is tagged with the condition that would cause the flow to proceed in that direction. This is different from the classic flow chart approach where the decision icon contains a question that is either affirmed or negated (yes or no labels on the branches are the most common way to show this in a flow chart.) The approach in UML makes it possible to have more than two outgoing control flows from a decision. The labels on the outgoing control flows are called guard conditions in the UML vernacular and are placed into a pair of square brackets ( ). The naming of the guard condition can be formal or informal UML does not have any prescriptive format for the writing of the guard conditions. For business analysis, it is best to keep the guard conditions simple and expressed as simple narratives. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |