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Entries for the 'Unified Modeling Language (UML)' Category

» FEATURED: BA ABCs: “C” is for Class Diagram

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Today’s letter is “C” – for Class Diagrams. Business Analysts use Class Diagrams to help them discover ‘structural’ business rules and to document them in a visual form that is readily understood by developers. What is a structural rule?

» FEATURED: Document Decisions Separately and Explicitly – A Proposed Use Case Scenario Best Practice

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Document Decisions Separately and Explicitly – A Proposed Use Case Scenario Best Practice

This article proposes a use case best practice technique: Always document decisions separately and explicitly in use case scenarios. This practice assists the business analyst in identifying where alternate and exception paths may be needed.This is similar to how decisions and resulting gateways are documented in Business Process Model and Notation...

» FEATURED: Data Modelling & Object Oriented Development

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Data Modelling & Object Oriented Development

At some stage in their working life, every business analyst will have some involvement with data modelling. They may need to model how data is (or will be) used or - if they only deal with requirements investigation - then someone else in the team will need to verify that the data to support new functions will be available.

» FEATURED: Use Case Points: an analysis phase estimating technique

(5164 Views) (1 Comments)

Use Case Points: an analysis phase estimating technique

Use Case Points are used as an analysis phase technique for estimating software development. Assuming the Business Analyst (BA) composes system use cases for describing functional requirements, the BA can use this technique for estimating the follow-on implementation effort. This article reviews the process of estimating the follow-on development e...

» FEATURED: An Introduction to Swimlane Diagrams

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A swimlane diagram is a type of process flow diagram (also sometimes called a cross-functional diagram) that features divisions or "lanes." Each lane is assigned an actor (which may be an individual, department, division, group, machine, entity, and so on), or even a phase or stage in a process, that is responsible for the activity or work describe...

» FEATURED: An Introduction to Activity Diagrams

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An activity diagram is a type of flowchart that is part of the UML (Unified Modeling Language) standard. Its purpose is to enable analysts to present a concrete, easy-to-follow visual of the workflow of a business use case.

» FEATURED: How the BA Can Take Advantage of Free Online Diagramming Tools

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How the BA Can Take Advantage of Free Online Diagramming Tools

Almost every business analyst uses diagramming software in their arsenal of analysis tools. According to BABOK 2.0, an analyst’s traditional purpose in using diagramming tools is to “support the rapid drawing and documentation of a model, typically by providing a set of templates for a particular notation which are used to develop diagrams based on...

» How Static Modeling Skills Can Improve Your Performance as a Business Analyst

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How Static Modeling Skills Can Improve Your Performance as a Business Analyst

While most business analyst roles don't explicitly require static modeling expertise, developing a better understanding of static modeling concepts can be a measurable forward step for business analysts seeking to develop new competencies. Such skills can be useful in many aspects of the BA work, from obtaining a better understanding of stakeholder...

» FEATURED: From Research to Implementation: Activity Diagram – Usage and Benefits

(6499 Views) (10 Comments)

From Research to Implementation: Activity Diagram – Usage and Benefits

As part of the Unified Modeling Language, Activity diagrams are often utilized for many software projects. However, a few questions about Activity diagrams linger in the minds of many Business Analysts, such as: Who is really using them? What kind of projects are they being used on? Why are people not using them? How are people using...

» FEATURED: Use Cases and Business Rules: Can They Work Together?

(13437 Views) (28 Comments)

Use Cases and Business Rules: Can They Work Together?

There is much written today about separating business rules from other dimensions of automated business systems. Without proper separation, they operate in enterprises without a great deal of thought given to them. Ironically, they may be the most important dimension because they represent important business thinking behind processes, use cases, fo...

» FEATURED: From Research to Implementation: Use Case Diagrams – Usage and Benefits

(8400 Views) (10 Comments)

From Research to Implementation: Use Case Diagrams – Usage and Benefits

Some people use them. Some people don't use them. Some people create them using sophisticated tools. Some use basic drawing programs. As part of the Unified Modeling Language, Use Case diagrams are often the starting point for many software projects. However, questions about Use Case diagrams still linger in the minds of many Business Analysts...

» UML - Business Context

(9362 Views) (2 Comments)

“Where does UML fit?” is a common question among new (and not so new!) business analysts. We all know that the M stands for modelling but beyond this, perceptions start to differ. In its current form (V2.0) UML consists of 13 diagram types all of which provide a different view of a system. In this article we’ll take a brief look at which of the...

» Stakeholder Communications - Pictures not Words

(7115 Views) (5 Comments)

Many people on our Business Analysis workshop ask why we use dataflow diagrams (DFDs). Why not Use Case…or even BPMN? After all DFDs have been around for 20 years, surely the world has moved on? Well, has it? The primary purpose of a business analyst is to communicate – to stakeholders and to solution providers – and when it comes to communication...

» Enterprise Architect for Business Analysts

(116353 Views) (7 Comments)

As a software architect and developer I’ve used Enterprise Architect (EA) from Sparx Systems (www.sparxsystems.com) for a number of years. In that time I’ve spent considerable time and energy trying to get our business analysts to do the same. While I’ve had some success I must admit it’s been an uphill battle. I suspect this is partly because EA i...

» UML 2 Class Diagram Guidelines

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UML class diagrams show the classes of the system, their inter-relationships, and the operations and attributes of the classes. Class diagrams are typically used, although not all at once, to: Explore domain concepts in the form of a domain model Analyze requirements in the form of a conceptual/analysis model Depict the detailed de...

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Business Analyst Articles: Business Analysis & Systems Analysis

Entries for the 'Unified Modeling Language (UML)' Category

Join the Premier Community for Business Analysts, Business Process Professionals, Systems Analysts, Data Analysts, and more…

Business Analyst Articles: Business Analysis & Systems Analysis

Entries for the 'Unified Modeling Language (UML)' Category

Join the Premier Community for
Business Analysts, Business Process Professionals,
Systems Analysts, Data Analysts, and more…