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What are use cases? Definition and examples 994 537 Christian

What are use cases? Definition and examples

WHAT ARE USE CASES?

DEFINITION & EXAMPLES

Below you will learn everything you need to know about use cases. Definition, advantages, examples and more.

In this article:

  1. Uses cases Definition
  2. What are the benefits of use cases?
  3. How to write use cases?
  4. Important questions for formulation
  5. These are the advantages
  6. Use cases in practice
  7. Examples
  8. Use Case vs. User Story: What’ the difference? 
  9. Conclusion

 

In a nutshell:

  • Use cases are application scenarios which describe the externally visible behavior of a system from the user’s perspective.
  • There are two known approaches for use case scenarios.
  • The goals of use cases should be specified as good as possible.

 

Use Cases: Build the fundament for your product- or business development

What must a system do? This is a question that keeps many companies busy when developing new products or ideas. The integration of new systems, participants and system borders provide a good overview in the stage of development, even for systems with more complex requirements. This ultimately ensures that there are no unexpected hurdles or even serious errors when using an application.

Discribtion of a use-case

Use cases: Beneficial for a variety of systems | source: canva.com

The opportunities to perform use cases are different but many like to use diagrams because they give a good overview. Other than that, diagrams come with the advantage to give visual insights of details and relevant requirements. That results in the perfect fundament for development of your products or business models. Before that, it’s important to know what use cases are and which benefits businesses have, how the requirements are defined and what use cases look like in practice.

 

Use cases Meaning

Use cases describe the documentation of system functions. It doesn’t matter if the system exists or if it’s still in the stage of planning, because regardless of this, the goal is pursued to describe the externally visible behavior of the system from the user’s perspective.

Users don’t necessarily need to be real persons, even systems and roles can be participants for use cases. These participants interact with a system to reach a pre-defined goal. The process is carried out according to a defined sequence, taking into account alternative sequences.

Originally, use cases were often applied in software development. As the requirements of processes within a system increased regardless of the industry, use cases are applicable in many different areas.

 

What are business use cases?

Business use cases are a specified variety of classic application cases and describe the interaction with business processes or business units. Stakeholders define goals and business use cases help to understand these goals and to elaborate them. One concrete difference between classic application cases and business use cases is the duration – system use cases are normally completed within a short period of time whereas business use cases take between several weeks or even months.

 

What are the benefits of use cases?

Use cases always pursue a goal, mostly the optimization of existing systems. That comes with the danger that the use case might end up in failure or even demolition. The interaction between participant and system pursues the goal to consider all eventualities and possible scenarios within a system in order to determine the necessary requirements. These scenarios aren’t always defined precisely which often leads to interruptions during the stage of testing. That causes higher costs through which use cases are interrupted or only partly completed. Basically, the benefit is to optimize systems from a participant’s point of view but a pre-defined goal isn’t always reachable because a few of the tested scenarios end with the result that not all requirements are fulfilled.

Man stands in front of a visualized business strategy

Use cases: An important part of working strategies for systems of all kinds | source: canva.com

 

How to write use cases?

The original use case concept of Ivar Jacobson, which he created in 1987, can be divided in two different approaches.

The first approach is use case specification, which includes natural language information, so-called “narratives”. This information is written as a textual example and includes the following elements:

  • Name of the use case
  • Participants
  • Trigger event
  • Description of process
  • Detailed description of the single steps
  • Description of alternative processes
  • Conditions, that are relevant before and after the use case
  • Presentation of hurdles and possible mistakes

The second approach is the use case diagram. This approach is systematically the same but diagrams are easier to understand because of visualization. Another difference to use case specification is that descriptions aren’t only related to procedures but to connections between the quantity of use cases and involved participants.

The choice doesn’t have to be either specification or diagrams. Both methods and their approaches complement each other in the use case process and in combination they provide exact evaluation of goals to determine the requirements of a system.

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Important questions for formulation

To write a use case properly, you can use specific questions to create the process as effective as possible in order to reach the desired goal.

The following 10 questions help you to create use cases

  • Which participants use the system and what are their goals?
  • How complex are the requirements with which the participants have to deal?
  • Which goal must be achieved?
  • How often is the use case performed?
  • What are the requirements the use case has to fulfill?
  • What are the requirements for a successful execution?
  • Which scenarios are possible and what do alternative scenarios look like?
  • What are the possible mistakes of every step of the application case?
  • What are the different steps a participant has to go through?
  • What are the reactions of a system to the interactions of a participant?

 

What are the advantages of use cases?

First of all, use cases provide clarity. The interaction between participant and system ensures that the system behavior is communicated understandable for users and that the requirements of a system with relations are clear. Use cases are easy to create and understandable for all involved participants. That provides businesses with more flexibility in defining system goals and the following execution.

The good overview also grants insights into details, for example information about a use case or a system. These insights give participants a better orientation through which the requirements are better defined.

The interaction between specification and diagram also allows a transparent mediation of details, which, thanks to visualization, are easy to understand.

 

Are there also disadvantages?

Depending on the prerequisites and requirements, there are also disadvantages with use cases. The focus of use cases is on the main functionality, therefore details are neglected and unexpected scenarios remain overlooked.

Another disadvantage is the complex, partly statistical nature of use cases. The number of use cases and their interactions increase rapidly, making management difficult. It is further complicated by the fact that use cases do not capture all changes.

 

Use cases in practice

Relations, systems, participants – at first glance, use cases sound very theoretical. Asking for a more practical approach is therefore quite justified here. Principally, use cases always have a practical component because the objective provides for testing functions within a system. Application examples range from using a coffee machine up to software testing, which is why systematic functions fulfill all the requirements for a use case. Your take-away for the practical use is: Use cases always pursue a specific goal which tests the relation between system and participant. As soon as the requirements, so participant and system, are given, a use case is possible.

 

Use Case examples

To give you better insights into the practical side of use cases, we will take a closer look at an example for using a digital signage menu to complete an order in a restaurant.

Name of the use case: Using a digital signage menu in a restaurant and ordering food with it.

Participants: Two test subjects. One regularly goes out to eat at a restaurant, the other one for the first time.

Trigger Event: The digital signage menu is probably not intuitive enough.

Short description: Two participants test the functions of a digital signage menu, of which the operation probably has a mistake or is not intuitive enough.

Description of the single steps: The participant goes to the menu / hardware. He operates the hardware with his fingers and selects the dishes of choice. He reaches the checkout area via a field. He completes the order and pays.  The participant is assigned an order number.

Description of alternative steps: The participant accidentally chooses the wrong meal and has to go back to the start. He wants to leave the checkout area to expand his order.

Pre- and post-conditions: It should be possible to easily and intuitively place an order.

System boundary and mistakes: Touchscreen won’t accept the input correctly.

That was more of a simplified example but that doesn’t matter. With this example you should develop a feeling how use cases work in a practical manner and especially how they work. Particularly complex applications require a detailed description with many participants and pre-defined alternative scenarios.

Try it yourself: Think of a scenario that suits your business and write it down on paper! You will be surprised which alternatives you can think of and how precisely such a process can be described.

 

Use Case vs. User Story: What’s the difference?

Use cases and user stories are two different techniques used in software development to describe requirements and functionalities. Both techniques aim at understanding the needs of users and planning the development of software products.

The differences are based on four levels:

  • Abstraction level: Use cases describe the interaction between users and systems over several steps and scenarios. User stories, on the other hand, are less abstract and focus on a specific user requirement.
  • Structure: Use Cases are well structured with a description, precondition, trigger, main flow, and alternative flows. User stories, on the other hand, are less structured and are often written according to the format “As a [user], I want [feature] so that [benefit].
  • Details: Use Cases are very detailed and usually include multiple scenarios. User Stories are less detailed so they remain more adaptable.
  • Use in agile development: Use cases tend to be used less in agile development methods such as Scrum. They are too extensive for this. User stories, on the other hand, are used more frequently because they are flexible and can be easily implemented in short development cycles.

 

Final advice for usage

Planning and transparency are important for successful use cases. Provide the involved participants with all the relevant information and involve as many employees as possible. But more employees also means that processes become more complex. However, the results promise a more detailed description of requirements.

Take the perspective of the participants and what goals they pursue. Through that, you will recognize the relation between the involved participants and the system. Furthermore it is important to define the pre- and post-conditions. Here is to be defined exactly, which requirements need to be fulfilled at the beginning and at the end.

The more precisely the working processes are defined, the better. It is not recommended to use automated or standardized processes because they don’t ensure an individual judgment of requirements.

 

Conclusion

Use cases offer a good opportunity to define systems and their functionality and to understand them better. The complex requirements come with danger of failures or unexpected obstacles but with the help of use cases it is possible to foresee these eventualities, test them and optimize the involved processes. Especially the optimization of business processes comes with advantages because companies can consider the wishes and goals of stakeholders more precisely.

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    Hardware and Software: Differences and connections 994 537 Christian

    Hardware and Software: Differences and connections

    HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE: DIFFERENCES AND CONNECTIONS

    Software and hardware – two terms which are often mentioned regarding IT and digitalization. But what do they mean and what are the differences?

    In this article:

    1. Hardware and software: Differences and connections
    2. What is software?
    3. The different types of software
    4. What is hardware?
    5. What is the difference between hardware and software?
    6. The difference between hardware and software through the example of digital signage solutions
    7. What are the challenges of hardware and software?
    8. Conclusion

     

    Hardware and software: Differences and connections

    The advance of digital techniques establishes new terms. To be honest, “software” and “hardware” aren’t really new and have already been established in the language use about two decades ago but these terms come with several questions to answer. In the following article we will answer questions regarding hardware, software and their differences as well as future challenges.

    What is software?

    Most people associate the term “software” with computers and this isn’t particularly wrong. But actually, software is a general term for all executable programs and their associated data. In many cases, software describes a script which on the other hand describes the functions and usage of a software controlled device.

     

    The different types of software

    The question regarding the definition also comes with the question if there are different types of software. Short answer: Yes, there is, many actually. Following, we will take a closer look at the different types of software.

     

    Open Source

    Open source is a free to use software. The source of this type of software is freely accessible and can easily be changed or adjusted. Known examples of open source software is LibreOffice.

     

    Embedded software

    Embedded software is a software which is recorded into hardware. The actual danger here is that once software is embedded it is not possible to change it afterwards. Therefore, the software must be flawless. Good example for this type of software are central heating systems – the software is installed within the hardware and functions are predefined. Updates or individual changes aren’t possible afterwards.

     

    Cloud based solutions

    The biggest advantage of cloud based software solutions is the independence. Only a few years ago updates and maintenance needed to be done by the business the software was provided for but that has changed thanks to cloud based solutions. Central administration gives businesses the opportunity to be provided with regular updates without having to do them by themselves.

    A good example for cloud based software solutions is digital signage – most digital screens are provided with cloud based software. Solutions such as FRAMR make working processes more flexible, individual and centralized. Centralized business processes save a lot of money in the long term and businesses can be sure that processes run reliably in the background and that performance will improve.

     

    Packaged software

    It’s probably the most known type of software. Packaged software provides the same solutions for every customer and for every business with only a few changes possible. Good examples are Microsoft Word and Microsoft excel. The actual challenge of these programs is to be compatible with many different systems. Everyone knows the regularly required updates of windows which mostly serve the purpose to fix errors or similar problems – the actual goal is to improve performance but also to make adjustments regarding the compatibility of different operating systems.

    The separation of the different types of software can be specified further – often the different types of software are categorized into standardized software, industry software and individual software. Standardized software is often used by many different businesses (bookkeeping software for example), industry software mostly provides solutions for niche businesses (commercial sector for example) and individual software is specifically developed for one or only a few companies.

     

    What is hardware?

    Hardware describes the physical components of a computer system and serves as a “tool” for functionality of software. One distinguishes between internal and external hardware. Internal hardware are the invisible components (the inside of a computer for example), external hardware on the other hand are all devices which are outside of a computer.

    Examples for internal hardware:

    • Processor
    • Power Adapter
    • Random access memory
    • Hard disk
    • Drives
    • Graphic card

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    Internal hardware is actually physical as well but not touchable from the outside like external hardware. For example, the hard disk is in the inside of a computer and serves the functionality of the device.

    Examples for external hardware:

    • Screen
    • Printer
    • Computer mouse
    • Keyboard
    • Fax machine

     

    What is the difference between hardware and software?

    Software describes the non-physical components and the executable programs of a computer device. Hardware on the other hand helps the functionality of software – hardware itself doesn’t have any impact on the functionality of a program but without hardware it’s not possible or only partly possible to use software. This is where physical components such as computer mouse, screen and keyboard come into play to support the usage of software.

     

    The difference between hardware and software through the example of digital signage solutions

    The difference between hardware and software is mostly shown through the example of computers but there are several other devices which are perfect examples of the combined usage of hardware and software. This will give you another perspective and further insights into the topic.

    Digital signage software describes the usage of digital-visual screens to display video and picture content in a compact form. Mostly, you will find digital screens in malls. The content is displayed through a central source – therefore it’s usual that screens and programs are not provided by the same supplier because software can be installed into any screen device. A good example of the combination of hardware and software.

    But one after the other. How does digital signage work if you consider the differences between hardware and software?

    In the first step, software is important to display content on a digital screen. Our different FRAMR players fulfill these requirements because you can save, create and display content through them. It’s a cloud based software solution because maintenance and administration in general are executed through the usage of a cloud. FRAMR players are internal hardware devices at the same time because there are no processors and storage devices within the player itself.

    What appears to be complicated at first glance, requires many different working processes and a well qualified team of programmers. The requirements of a good interaction between hardware and software comes with many little steps within the working process and the consideration of high technical standards. Optical elements also play an important role when you display content to make a good user experience possible.

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    What are the challenges of hardware and software?

    The change and progress in fields such as IT also changes the requirements of hardware and software. Especially the  software area comes with many new challenges – the importance of data security increases and B2B customers especially want data secure solutions. But not only are legal aspects to consider, there is also a lot of work to do in technical fields.

    Businesses prioritize individuality and flexibility as well as easy to execute working processes. Here, software providers are responsible to offer centralized solutions which consider individual wishes at the same time.

    The area of hardware isn’t directly impacted by technical changes. Technical requirements are to consider but even more important are the wishes of consumers and customers. Take screens as example: No business wants to use hardware which is on the technical level of 2015 – it must be modern but also better. The actual challenge lies within usage based elements (User experience, screen definition and easy usage of hardware for example).

     

    Conclusion

    The topic of hardware and software is a complicated one, especially because of the changing requirements in IT. There are many different types of software and what businesses want depends on the current events on the market. Currently, cloud based solutions such as digital signage software are highly demanded.

    The choice of the right software depends on the goals of a business as well the individual requirements. Cloud based solutions offer the possibility to react fast on changes, packaged software is cheap and individual software solutions precisely fit the wishes and wants of a business (but are mostly much more expensive).

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      Pictures: © Canva.com

      FRAMR. LED arc PlusCity 1024 768 Christian

      FRAMR. LED arc PlusCity

      PlusCity has the right twist in the form of LED walls and LED cubes. At the entrances to the PlusCity sun terraces, two special-format LED walls up to 7 meters wide have been installed for information and stimulate culinary pleasure. They illuminate in the literally.

      On the LED arch the restaurants of the sun terrace and their promotions are advertised. Three rotatable LED cubes complete the picture of the impressive overall installation. The cubes can be played individually or as a whole and support the LED arch in an impressive way.

      Article → Digital Signage Software: The future of communication?

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