Activity: Structure the Business Use-Case Model
| Purpose - To extract behavior in business use cases that need to be considered as abstract business use cases. - To find new abstract business actors that define roles that are shared by several business actors. | |
| Role: Business-Process Analyst | |
| **Frequency:**As required, typically at least once for each iteration that includes business modeling activities. | |
| Steps - [Establish Include-Relationships Between Business Use Cases](#Establish Include-Relationships Between Business Use Cases) - [Establish Extend-Relationships Between Business Use Cases](#Establish Extend-Relationships Between Business Use Cases) - [Establish Generalizations Between Business Use Cases](#Establish Generalizations Between Business Use Cases) - [Establish Generalizations Between Business Actors](#Establish Generalizations Between Business Actors) - [Evaluate Your Results](#Evaluate Your Results) | |
| Input Artifacts: - Business Actor - Business Glossary - Business Use Case - Project Specific Guidelines - Supplementary Business Specification | Resulting Artifacts: - Business Actor - Business Use Case |
| Tool Mentors: - Structuring the Business Use-Case Model Using Rational Rose | |
| More Information: - Guideline: Business Use-Case Model - Guideline: Extend-Relationship in the Business Use-Case Model - Guideline: Include-Relationship in the Business Use-Case Model - Guideline: Use-Case Diagram in the Business Use-Case Model - Guideline: Use-Case-Generalization in the Business Use-Case Model |
| Workflow Details: - Business Modeling - Refine Business Process Definitions |
Establish Include-Relationships Between Business Use Cases
If you find that there are large portions in a workflow than can be factored out as an inclusion to simplify the original business use case, those parts can form a new business use case that is included in the original business use cases. Examples of such behavior are common behavior, optional behavior, and behavior that is to be developed in later iterations.
You should briefly describe every relationship you define.
See also Guidelines: Business Use-Case Model and Guidelines: Include-Relationship in the Business Use-Case Model.
Establish Extend-Relationships Between Business Use Cases
If you find major parts of a workflow that form an option to the normal workflow, you can factor that part out to a new business use case that is an extension to the original business use case.
Make sure that the workflow of the original business use case is still complete and understandable in and of itself.
See also Guidelines: Business Use-Case Model and Guidelines: Extend-Relationship in the Business Use-Case Model.
Establish Generalizations Between Business Use Cases
In the business use-case model, use-case-generalizations can be used to find workflows that structure purpose and behavior.
See also Guidelines: Business Use-Case Model and Guidelines: Use-Case Generalization in the Business Use-Case Model.
Establish Generalizations Between Business Actors
If two business actors interact with the same business use case in exactly the same way, they play the same role with respect to that business use case. To clarify this situation you can create a new business actor for this common role. The original business actors inherit this new business actor.
See also Guidelines: Actor-Generalization in the Business Use-Case Model.
Evaluate Your Results
You should continuously evaluate the structure of your business use-case model to make sure it is understandable to your stakeholders.
See checkpoints for business actor, business use case and business use-case model in Activity: Review the Business Use-Case Model.