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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-AU link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>Hi Mark,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'> Yes, a number of interesting statements in the articles ( and linked articles from those pages including “</span><a href="http://searchsoftwarequality.techtarget.com/news/1273406/The-pros-and-cons-of-use-case-diagrams">The pros and cons of use case diagrams,"</a><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>, “</span><a href="http://searchsoftwarequality.techtarget.com/tip/Software-requirements-analysis-Five-use-case-traps-to-avoid">Five use case traps to avoid:</a><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>” , “</span><a href="http://searchsoftwarequality.techtarget.com/news/1264767/How-to-document-use-cases">How to document use cases</a><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>” etc. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'> The other statements I picked up that made me think and it makes sense is:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraph style='text-indent:-18.0pt;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><![if !supportLists]><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>1)<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span><![endif]>It is worth keeping in mind that <i>actor</i> is a slight misnomer. In UML an actor is a role rather than something that plays a role. For roles carried out by humans the term <i>user role</i> is an increasingly common alternative term to actor. Although it's clearer, the term is not a drop-in substitute for <i>actor</i> because not all actors are human roles, and not all human roles would necessarily be classed as users in a context diagram. The common stick-figure notation for actors makes sense for human roles, but it looks a little strange for nonhuman roles such as devices and other software systems. For those kinds of actors consider using an alternative icon or simply a box stereotyped with «<i>actor</i>». <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>Displaying external systems such as a video system or a Credit Card System as a stick figure does make it look strange. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraph style='text-indent:-18.0pt;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><![if !supportLists]><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>2)<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span></span><![endif]>There is little point in drawing a diagram if you don't know what you want from it - <span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>true. What are students doing with the ucd they are given ?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>As far as the text based use cases vs the diagrammatic representation, this is my first year teaching it so I would like to hear what others have done.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>Kind Regards<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>Kevork Krozian<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>Edulists Creator Administrator<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>www.edulists.com.au<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>tel: 0419 356 034<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div style='border:none;border-top:solid #B5C4DF 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0cm 0cm 0cm'><p class=MsoNormal><b><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>From:</span></b><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'> sofdev-bounces@edulists.com.au [mailto:sofdev-bounces@edulists.com.au] <b>On Behalf Of </b>Mark KELLY<br><b>Sent:</b> Wednesday, 8 February 2012 1:14 PM<br><b>To:</b> Year 12 Software Development Teachers' Mailing List<br><b>Subject:</b> Re: [Year 12 SofDev] Use Cases, context diagrams<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'>Thanks, Kevork.<br><br>The second link raises an interesting point when it says "For reasons that remain a mystery to me, many people focus on the stick figures and ellipses in use case writing since Jacobson's first book, <i>Object-Oriented Software Engineering</i> (1993) came out, and have neglected to notice that use cases are fundamentally a text form."<br><br>I must admit I've mainly stressed use case DIAGRAMS (UCD) with kids and spent little time on the textual descriptions of the use cases in the SRS. For the simple use cases we handle, I've found the UCD alone conveys all the necessary info, and giving textual use cases as well is mere duplication of the UCD. In the SRS, I tend to gloss over the textual use cases section. My outcomes last year took this approach and VCAA said nothing about that being a problem when they were audited.<br><br>The study design does not give much of a clue about the relative balance of use case text/diagrams, apart from requiring students to know use cases (SD U3O1 KK10) and the composition of an SRS (SD U3O1 KK12). <br><br>The detailed example for U3O1 mentions drawing a UCD. The assessment handbook's rubric for U3O1 says that "all relationships between users, the network, including data flows, and the proposed solution are accurately and clearly represented *diagramatically*" (which to me suggests a CD/DFD and a UCD).<br><br>Do you guys stress the textual descriptions of use cases in the SRS, or mainly rely on the UCD? <br><br>Just curious.<br><br>Cheers<br>Mark<br><br><o:p></o:p></p><div><p class=MsoNormal>On 8 February 2012 11:16, Kevork Krozian <<a href="mailto:kevork@edulists.com.au">kevork@edulists.com.au</a>> wrote:<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><br>Hi Folks,<br><br>A couple of really good links covering use cases and context diagrams.<br><a href="http://searchsoftwarequality.techtarget.com/definition/use-case" target="_blank">http://searchsoftwarequality.techtarget.com/definition/use-case</a><br><br><a href="http://searchsoftwarequality.techtarget.com/news/1280295/From-use-case-diagrams-to-context-diagrams?asrc=EM_NLN_2495725&track=NL-498&ad=607290&" target="_blank">http://searchsoftwarequality.techtarget.com/news/1280295/From-use-case-diagrams-to-context-diagrams?asrc=EM_NLN_2495725&track=NL-498&ad=607290&</a><br><br><br><br>Kind Regards<br><br>Kevork Krozian<br>Edulists Creator Administrator<br><a href="http://www.edulists.com.au" target="_blank">www.edulists.com.au</a><<a href="http://www.edulists.com.au" target="_blank">http://www.edulists.com.au</a>><br>tel: <a href="tel:0419%20356%20034">0419 356 034</a><br><br><br>________________________________<br><br>Important - This email and any attachments may be confidential. 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Any representations or opinions expressed are those of the<br>individual sender, and not necessarily those of Ringwood Secondary<br>College.<br><br>_______________________________________________<br><a href="http://www.edulists.com.au" target="_blank">http://www.edulists.com.au</a> - FAQ, Subscribe, Unsubscribe<br>IT Software Development Mailing List kindly supported by<br><a href="http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au" target="_blank">http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au</a> - Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority and<br><a href="http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/vce/studies/infotech/softwaredevel3-4.html" target="_blank">http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/vce/studies/infotech/softwaredevel3-4.html</a><br><a href="http://www.vitta.org.au" target="_blank">http://www.vitta.org.au</a> - VITTA Victorian Information Technology Teachers Association Inc<br><a href="http://www.swinburne.edu.au/ict/schools" target="_blank">http://www.swinburne.edu.au/ict/schools</a> - Swinburne University<o:p></o:p></p></div><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><br><br clear=all><br>-- <br>Mark Kelly<br>Manager of ICT, Reporting, IT Learning Area<br>McKinnon Secondary College<br>McKinnon Rd McKinnon 3204, Victoria, Australia<br>Direct line / Voicemail: +613 8520 9085, Fax +613 9578 9253<br><a href="mailto:kel@mckinnonsc.vic.edu.au" target="_blank">kel@mckinnonsc.vic.edu.au</a><br>VCE IT Lecture Notes: <a href="http://vceit.com" target="_blank">http://vceit.com</a><br>Moderator: <a href="http://www.edulists.com.au/" target="_blank">IT Applications Edulist</a><br><br>--<br>Grammar for the 21st century...<br>Infinitive: I sync my phone.<br>Past tense: I sanc my phone.<br>Past participle: I have sunc my phone.<br><br><o:p></o:p></p></div></body></html>