Notes for "Applying UML & Patterns"

1.  Use cases are not diagrams, they are text.

• UML用例图能直观地表示整个系统的用例模型，但是真正对用例的描述只能通过text来描述
• 因此，建立用例时重点应该放在用text来描述use case。UML use case diagram只是用作辅助。

2. Actors, Scenarios and use cases:

• A actor is something with behavior, such as a person (identified by role), computer system, or organization; for example, a cashier)

• Scenario is a specific sequence of actions and interactions between actors and the system; it is also called a use case instance.
• A use case is a collection of related success and failure scenarios that describe an actor using a system to support a goal.

In a word: A use case is a set of use-case instances, where each instance is a sequence of actions a system performs that yields an observable result of value to a particular actor.
[Scenario是系统执行的能够产生对某个actor而言具有可视结果的 动作序列；Use-case是Scenario的一个集合]

3. Use cases are text documents, not diagrams, and use-case modeling is primarily an act of writing text, not drawing diagram. The use-case model may optionally include a UML use case diagram to show the names of use cases and actors, and their relationships. This gives a nice context diagram of a system and its environment. It also provides a quick way to list the use cases by name.

4. Are use cases are requirement, primarily functional or behavioral requirements that indicate what the system will do.
[Use case主要用来描述functional requirement，但也可以描述其它requirement，如performance requirement等]

5. Written specification and other models give the illusion of correctness, but models lie. Only code and tests reveals the truth of what's really wanted and works. ... You know you are on the wrong path if you try to write in detail all or most of the use cases before beginning the first development iteration - or the opposite.
[强调一点：只有代码和测试才能检验什么样的系统才能满足客户的要求。不要希望一开始就追求将所有的需求都列出来，不要求一开始所有的需求都正确。需求需要做到什么程度以及什么时候需要开始coding，两者之间的平衡点是iteration。即基于一定的需求做coding和testing，反过来验证和完善需求，再coding。。。]

6. Guideline for writing use cases:

• Write in an essential UI-Free style: keep the user interface out - focus on intent
  

[ 在做requirement collection的初期不需要记录UI有关的requirement，应关心用户真正希望系统能为它实现的那些东西。当然，如果用户对UI有特别的要求，比如说要支持CLI，就领当别论。]

• Write black-box use cases: By defining system responsibility with black-box use cases, one can specify what the system must do (the behavior or functional reruirements) without deciding how it will do it (the design)

[ 做requirement collection是在定义一个系统该做什么，应该提供什么功能，也就是定义了系统的功能范围，这是侧重于这个系统该“做什么”；而design的工作放在这个系统将“怎样做/实现”这些功能]