SOFTWARE

ENGINEERING
CO3001

CHAPTER 6 – SYSTEM MODELING Truong Tuan Anh

Adapted from https://iansommerville.com/software-engineering-book/slides/

TOPICS COVERED

 Context models
 Interaction models
 Structural models
 Behavioral models
 Model-driven engineering

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SYSTEM MODELING

 the process of developing abstract models of a system

 each model presenting a different view or perspective
 means representing a system using some kind of graphical
notation
 almost always based on notations in the Unified Modeling Language
(UML).
 helps the analyst to
 understand the functionality of the system
 use models to communicate with customers.

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EXISTING AND PLANNED SYSTEM MODELS

 Models of the existing system

 used during requirements engineering.
 They help clarify what the existing system does and can be used as a
basis for discussing its strengths and weaknesses.
 These then lead to requirements for the new system.
 Models of the new system
 used during requirements engineering to help explain the proposed
requirements to other system stakeholders.
 Engineers use these models to discuss design proposals and to
document the system for implementation.
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SYSTEM PERSPECTIVES

 An external perspective
 models the context or environment of the system.
 An interaction perspective
 models the interactions between a system and its environment, or between
the components of a system.
 A structural perspective
 models the organization of a system or the structure of the data that is
processed by the system.
 A behavioral perspective
 models the dynamic behavior of the system and how it responds to events.
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USE OF GRAPHICAL MODELS

 As a means of facilitating discussion about an existing or

proposed system
 may be incomplete
 As a way of documenting an existing system
 should be an accurate representation of the system
 As a detailed system description that can be used to generate
a system implementation
 Models have to be both correct and complete.

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UML DIAGRAM TYPES

 Activity diagrams, which show the activities involved in a process or

in data processing .
 Use case diagrams, which show the interactions between a system
and its environment.
 Sequence diagrams, which show interactions between actors and the
system and between system components.
 Class diagrams, which show the object classes in the system and the
associations between these classes.
 State diagrams, which show how the system reacts to internal and
external events.

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 EXTERNAL PERSPECTIVES

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CONTEXT MODELS

 To illustrate the operational context of a system – the

boundaries
 they show what lies outside the system boundaries.

 Social and organisational concerns may affect the decision on

where to position system boundaries.
 Architectural models show the system and its relationship with
other systems.

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SYSTEM BOUNDARIES

 System boundaries are established to define what is inside and

what is outside the system.
 They show other systems that are used or depend on the system being
developed.

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THE CONTEXT OF THE MENTCARE SYSTEM

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PROCESS PERSPECTIVE

 Context models simply show the other systems in the environment, not how the system being
developed is used in that environment.

 Process models reveal how the system being developed is used

in broader business processes.

 UML activity diagrams may be used to define business process

models.

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PROCESS MODEL OF INVOLUNTARY DETENTION

our system
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 INTERACTION PERSPECTIVES

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INTERACTION MODELS

 Modeling user interaction

 helps to identify user requirements.
 Modeling system-to-system interaction
 highlights the communication problems that may arise.
 Modeling component interaction
 to understand if a proposed system structure is likely to deliver the required
system performance and dependability.

 Use case diagrams and sequence diagrams may be used for

interaction modeling.

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USE CASE MODELING

 Use cases were developed originally to support requirements elicitation and now incorporated
into the UML.

 Each use case represents a discrete task that involves external

interaction with a system.
 Actors in a use case may be people or other systems.
 Represented diagrammatically to provide an overview of the
use case and in a more detailed textual form.

http://tynerblain.com/blog/2007/01/22/how-to-write-good-use-case-names/
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TRANSFER-DATA USE CASE

 A use case in the Mentcare system

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TABULAR DESCRIPTION OF THE ‘TRANSFER DATA’ USE-CASE

MHC-PMS: Transfer data

Actors Medical receptionist, patient records system (PRS)
Description A receptionist may transfer data from the Mentcase system
to a general patient record database that is maintained by a
health authority. The information transferred may either be
updated personal information (address, phone number, etc.)
or a summary of the patient’s diagnosis and treatment.
Data Patient’s personal information, treatment summary
Stimulus User command issued by medical receptionist
Response Confirmation that PRS has been updated
Comments The receptionist must have appropriate security permissions
to access the patient information and the PRS.

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USE CASES IN THE MENTCARE SYSTEM INVOLVING THE ROLE ‘MEDICAL
RECEPTIONIST’

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 Use Case ID:

USE-CASE SCENARIO TABULAR TEMPLATE

Use Case Name:
Created By: Last Updated By:
Date Created: Date Last Updated:
Actors:
Description:
Trigger:
Preconditions:
Postconditions:
Normal Flow: 1. …
2. …
Alternative Flows: Alternative 1:
…

Alternative x:
…
Exceptions: Exception 1:
…

Exception x:
…
Sep 2019
Notes and Issues: CHAPTER 5 SYSTEM MODELING 20
 A USE-CASE EXAMPLE
Use-case name Search club events
Actor A member of the public (MP)
Description The MP is searching for club events on a particular date.
Preconditions The MP is at the university home page.
Normal Flow 1. MP selects “Search Events” on MP home page
2. System presents a page with choice of dates for the current month
3. MP selects a date from among the choices
4. System presents a page with events for that date, giving time and
club name
5. MP selects an event
6. System presents a page with details of that event, including
location, description and cost
Exceptions Exception 1: at step 4
4a. If there are no events for the selected date, System presents a
page saying that there are no events for the selected date
Alternative Flows Alternative 1: at step 3
3a. MP selects a different month
3b. System presents a page with choice of dates for the month
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MORE USE-CASE ANNOTATION

use-case extended point: when/where to extend

actor generalization: similar to class generalization

A - - «includes» - -> B: start at A, may do B, end at A

A <- - «extend» - - B: start at A, may do B (at an extended point) and (may) end at B
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SEQUENCE DIAGRAMS

 Sequence diagrams are part of the UML

 used to model the interactions between the actors and the

objects within a system.

 A sequence diagram shows the sequence of interactions that

take place during a particular use case or use case instance.
 The objects and actors involved are listed along the top of the
diagram, with a dotted line drawn vertically from these.
 Interactions between objects are indicated by annotated arrows.
http://creately.com/blog/diagrams/sequence-diagram-tutorial/

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SEQUENCE DIAGRAM FOR VIEW PATIENT INFORMATION

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 SEQUENCE DIAGRAM FOR TRANSFER DATA

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IN-CLASS ACTIVITY

 Use-case and sequence diagrams for some examples

 Note:
 1. If in seq. diagram A ---- method1(xxx) ----> B, then “method1” is
of A or B?

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 STRUCTURAL PERSPECTIVES

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STRUCTURAL MODELS

 Display the organization of a system in terms of the

components that make up that system and their relationships.
 Structural models may be
 static models: show the structure of the system design,
 or dynamic models: show the organization of the system when it is
executing.

Create structural models of a system when

discussing and designing the system
architecture.

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CLASS DIAGRAMS

 Used when developing an object-oriented system model to

show the classes in a system and the associations between these
classes.

 An object class can be thought of as a general definition of one kind

of system object.
 An association is a link between classes that indicates that there is some
relationship between these classes.

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 Class
 Attributes
 Operations

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 Association types:
 Aggregation
 Composition
 Generalizations
 Realizations, and
 Dependencies

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UML CLASSES AND ASSOCIATION

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CLASSES AND ASSOCIATIONS IN THE MENTCARE

This is just Entity classes.

There are more for
Views/Boundaries and
Business processes/Controls

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THE CONSULTATION CLASS

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GENERALIZATION
 Rather than learn the detailed characteristics of
every entity, place these entities in more general
classes (animals, cars, houses, etc.) and learn the
characteristics of these classes

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A GENERALIZATION HIERARCHY WITH ADDED DETAIL

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OBJECT CLASS AGGREGATION MODELS

 An aggregation model shows how classes that are collections

are composed of other classes.
 Aggregation models are similar to the part-of relationship in semantic data models.

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AGGREGATION VS COMPOSITION RELATIONSHIP

 Aggregation: specifies a whole/part relationship between the

aggregate (whole) and component part (the component may
survive the aggregate object)
 Composition: composite object takes ownership of the
component(s)

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DATABASE DIAGRAMS VS CLASS DIAGRAMS

 Entity/Relation/Table vs. class

 Entity/Relation/Table relationship vs class relationship

 When and why we need

 Only database
 Only classes
 Both

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 BEHAVIORAL PERSPECTIVES

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BEHAVIORAL MODELS

 Behavioral models are models of the dynamic behavior of a

system as it is executing.
 They show what happens or what is supposed to happen when a
system responds to a stimulus from its environment.

 Stimuli:
 Data: Some data arrives that has to be processed by the system.
 Events: Some event happens that triggers system processing. Events
may have associated data, although this is not always the case.

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DATA-DRIVEN MODELING

 Many business systems are data-processing systems that are primarily driven by data. They are
controlled by the data input to the system, with relatively little external event processing.

 Data-driven models show the sequence of actions involved in

processing input data and generating an associated output.

 Data-Flow-Diagrams ( DFD) ?
 Not UML

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AN ACTIVITY MODEL OF THE INSULIN PUMP’S OPERATION

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ORDER PROCESSING – AN ALTERNATIVE TO REPRESENT BEHAVIORS

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EVENT-DRIVEN MODELING

 Real-time systems are often event-driven, with minimal data processing. For example, a landline
phone switching system responds to events such as ‘receiver off hook’ by generating a dial tone.

 Event-driven modeling shows how a system responds to external

and internal events.

 It is based on the assumption that a system has a finite number of states and that events (stimuli)
may cause a transition from one state to another.

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STATE DIAGRAM OF A MICROWAVE OVEN

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MICROWAVE OVEN OPERATION
 Superstate encapsulates a number of separate
states.
 looks like a single state on a high-level model
 expanded to show more detail on a separate diagram.

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STATES AND STIMULI FOR THE MICROWAVE OVEN
State Description
Waiting The oven is waiting for input. The display shows the current time.
Half power The oven power is set to 300 watts. The display shows ‘Half power’.
Full power The oven power is set to 600 watts. The display shows ‘Full power’.
The cooking time is set to the user’s input value. The display shows
Set time
the cooking time selected and is updated as the time is set.
Oven operation is disabled for safety. Interior oven light is on.
Disabled
Display shows ‘Not ready’.
Oven operation is enabled. Interior oven light is off. Display shows
Enabled
‘Ready to cook’.
Oven in operation. Interior oven light is on. Display shows the timer
countdown. On completion of cooking, the buzzer is sounded for
Operation
five seconds. Oven light is on. Display shows ‘Cooking complete’
while buzzer is sounding.

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STATES AND STIMULI FOR THE MICROWAVE OVEN (CONT.)

Stimulus Description

Half power The user has pressed the half-power button.

Full power The user has pressed the full-power button.

Timer The user has pressed one of the timer buttons.

Number The user has pressed a numeric key.

Door open The oven door switch is not closed.
Door closed The oven door switch is closed.
Start The user has pressed the Start button.
Cancel The user has pressed the Cancel button.

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SUMMARY

 A model is an abstract view of a system

 Context models show how a system is positioned in an environment
with other systems and processes.
 Use case diagrams and sequence diagrams are used to describe
the interactions between users and systems in the system
 Use cases describe interactions between a system and external actors;
 Sequence diagrams add more information to these by showing interactions
between system objects.
 Structural models show the organization and architecture of a
system.
 Class diagrams are used to define the static structure of classes in a system
and their associations.

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SUMMARY (CONT.)

 Behavioral models are used to describe the dynamic behavior

of an executing system.
 Can be by the perspective of the data processed by the system, or by
the events that stimulate responses from a system.
 Activity diagrams may be used to model the processing of
data, where each activity represents one process step.
 State diagrams are used to model a system’s behavior in
response to internal or external events.

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 MORE ON UML Self-study

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COLLABORATION / COMMUNICATION DIAGRAMS

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 SEQUENCE VS. COLLABORATION DIAGRAMS

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 ACTIVITY DIAGRAMS

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 ACTIVITY DIAGRAMS (CONT.)
Swimming lane

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