This course is designed to show by example how to write, review and test use cases. The result of this workshop is an increased understanding of use cases and how to apply that understanding in real-life projects. This course is perfect for organizations that need a quick start in writing use cases.

This course takes about 6 hours to complete, including exercises. The narrated slide shows total about 3 hours.

• The course is designed to be viewed by people at all connection speeds from dial-up to DSL and high-speed cable modem.
• Before registering and paying, please view the demo first to make sure you have the technical compatibility to access the course.
• The course is compatible with all major browsers - IE, Firefox, Safari
• Adobe PDF Reader and Flash Player (all free) are required to view the slideshows and notes.
• The course uses an online learning management system (LMS) called Moodle. This full-featured LMS provides many features and is easy to use. The whole idea about Moodle is that you can learn at your own page, interact with others and explore the topics as you like. You are not forced to follow any particular order.

This is a practical interactive seminar which uses team exercises to reinforce the process taught in the class. Your instructor will be Randy Rice, a certified instructor in the software engineering field. You will learn the terminology, process, and challenges of requirements management in the real world. As a result of attending this seminar, you should have a good working knowledge of user requirements and what it takes to gather, design, test and manage a complete set of use cases for a project.

This course will help you become more comfortable and confident in performing the use case definition process in just about any role on the project, including business analyst, user, system designer, project manager, QA analyst or tester.

You will emerge from this session knowing how to define the right problem, talk to the right people, document the right needs, build the right system, and test the system using use cases as a basis for definition.

Return on Investment

   * Learn how to define and solve the right problem and avoid spending tons of money building the wrong system.
   * Understand the key issues in understanding and writing use cases.
   * Learn how to design tests that adequately cover use cases and business events.
   * Get the most out of your existing investment in user requirements and use cases and how to leverage that investment.
   * Advance your career by reinforcing your software engineering expertise.

Who Will Benefit

   * Project managers
   * Business analysts
   * End-users
   * System designers
   * Software engineers and developers
   * QA analysts
   * Test analysts
   * Testers

The program requires only basic IT knowledge or experience. Technical documentation knowledge or experience is not a pre-requisite.

Topics

Module 1 - Introduction to Use Cases

This module shows the nature, history and purpose of use cases. In addition, this module establishes a solid foundation of the strengths and limitations of use cases.

   * What is a Use Case?
   * The History of Use Cases
   * The Purpose of Use Cases
   * How Use Cases Fill Gaps in Requirements
   * The Relationship Between Use Cases and Requirements

Module 2 - Writing Effective Use Cases

This module shows by example how to write an effective use case.

   * The Components
   * The Four-phase Evolutionary Approach to Writing Use Cases
   * Exercise: Writing a Basic Use Case

Module 3 - Getting Use Cases Right

This module teaches how to find problems in use cases.

   * How to Review Use Cases
   * What to Look For - Examples of Errors and Gaps Seen in Use Cases
   * Exercise: Reviewing a Use Case

Module 4 - Test Cases From Use Cases

This module describes use cases and how they can be used to design tests.

   * Sample Use Case
   * Translating Use Cases into Test Cases
   * Filling in the Gaps with Other Test Case Techniques
   * Sample Test Case Derived from Use Case
   * Establishing Traceability between Use Cases, Test Cases and Requirements
   * Exercise: Developing a Set of Test Cases from a Use Case

Module 5 - Holding a Use Case Workshop

This module describes how to plan and conduct sessions to define use cases.

   * Why Workshops are Helpful
   * Preparing for the Workshop
   * Finding a Good Facilitator
   * Finding the Right People
   * Training the Participants
   * The Structure of a Workshop
   * Dealing with Common Workshop Issues

Module 6 - Business Rules and Use Cases

This module describes the role that business rules play in use cases.

   * What is a Business Rule?
   * The Relationship of Business Rules with Use Cases
   * A Business Rule Taxonomy - Types of Business Rules
   * Expressing Business Rules in Use Cases
   * Example

Module 7 - Relationships Between Use Cases

This module describes how use cases can include other use cases, can be extended and can be generalized.

   * Three Ways to See Relationships
   * Included Relationships
   * Extended Relationships
   * Generalized Relationships

Module 8 - More About Event Flows

This module shows how to define the main flow, alternate flows and exceptional flows.

   * Basic Flow
   * Alternate Flows
   * Exceptional Flows
   * How Much Detail to Include in Event Flows?
   * Expressing Flows in Non-Graphical Ways

Module 9 - Summary

   * Top 5 Seminar Points
   * Final Questions and Answers


Resources

   * Checklists and Templates
   * Glossary
   * Bibliography

Deliverables

   * Course notebook with slides, worksheets, checklists, complete examples and supporting text
   * You will have the basic information needed to gather, document and test use cases.