Systems, Process & Data Modeling Research Paper

Systems, Process & Data Modeling - Research Paper Example The paper tells that the last two decades of the twentieth century proved to be the advent of the Unified Modeling Language. The UML can be narrated as â€Å"a language for specifying, visualizing and constructing the artifacts of software systems, as well as for business modeling.† On lighter note, the UML is a graphical means of depicting the design models with respect to specific environments. Use Case Modeling is a subset of Unified Modeling Language. It can be narrated as a method whereby the requirements of the stakeholders can be incorporated into the system’s design. The functional requirements of an existing or proposed system are described in detail via use case modeling techniques. The process modeling is done in the early stages of system development. User input can be altered at every stage of development in a use case that is developed as a result of the execution of the modeling technique. The subsequent development stages are all based upon the use cases that are generated in the initiation. The components of a use case model are mainly actors and use cases. An Actor is any external interaction with the system. It may be a person or an entity that exchanges data with the system. An actor may also be a user of the system though all users are not necessarily actors. A use case is a series of steps that gets initiated when an actor interacts with the system under consideration. The goal that is achieved by use case modeling is the creation of a conceptual system regarding the observable behavior of the concerned system. This conceptual model is basically aimed at representing the real world scenario within the information system. The model also supports communication between the users and the developers of the system, enables better analytical understanding of the system and proves to be a point of initiation for the designers of the system. (Wand and Weber, 2002) PERFORMING USE CASE MODELING In a use case model a use case is represen ted by an ellipse while the actors interacting with it are symbolized using a stickman symbol. The notations being used for use case modeling are illustrated in the table below: Table 1: Showing grammatical constructs for Use Case Diagram Using the notations mentioned in Table 1 above a use case model can be easily assembled. How it is developed is demonstrated by taking the example of â€Å"Registration in a University.† The points to be considered when registering in a university course may be stated as follows: Are there any pre requisite courses for the course being selected for studying? Have the pre requisite courses been completed by the student attempting the course? Is the student a fee defaulter? Has the student registered in the maximum number of courses that can be registered in a month? The use cases that deal with these queries, resolve them and proceed towards the completion of the use case model are stated as follows: Class Registration Registration for Specia l Classes Prereq Courses not completed Student Billing Student Record These use cases are depicted as ellipses with their respective names stated underneath them. The actors interacting with this specific se case model are the Student, The registration personnel, the instructor and the Bursar’s Office. These actors are depicted by the symbol of a man. Any one of the actors initiates its respective use case. For example, the class registration use case can be initiated by the student or the registration clerk. The use case would first connect with the ‘pre requisite course not completed’ use case and check whether there are any pre requisite courses that need to be completed before the ‘to-be registered course’ or not. If the response is yes then the student’s record requires to be checked whether he has completed the pre requisite