Use case

In software and systems engineering, a use case is a list of steps, typically defining interactions between a role (known in Unified Modeling Language (UML) as an "actor") and a system, to achieve a goal. The actor can be a human, an external system, or time.

In systems engineering, use cases are used at a higher level than within software engineering, often representing missions or stakeholder goals. The detailed requirements may then be captured in Systems Modeling Language (SysML) or as contractual statements.

Use Cases are an important requirement technique that have been widely used in modern software engineering since their formal introduction by Ivar Jacobson in 1992.

Use case driven development is a key characteristic of process models and frameworks such as the Unified Process (UP), Rational Unified Process (RUP), and Oracle Unified Method (OUM).

With its iterative and evolutionary nature, the use case is also a good fit for agile development.

External Links

• Use case @ Wikipedia