Scribd
Upload
135 views13 pages

Activity Diagram

Activity diagrams describe workflow behavior and are used for process modeling, requirements engineering, and analyzing existing and new processes. They show sequences of activities including decisions, iterations, and parallel activities connected by events.

Uploaded by

vaish
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
135 views13 pages

Activity Diagram

Activity diagrams describe workflow behavior and are used for process modeling, requirements engineering, and analyzing existing and new processes. They show sequences of activities including decisions, iterations, and parallel activities connected by events.

Uploaded by

vaish
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 13

Activity Diagrams

1
Activity Diagram

• Activity diagrams describe the workflow behavior of a system.

– Activity diagrams are used in process modeling and analysis of during


requirements engineering.

– A typical business process which synchronizes several external incoming


events can be represented by activity diagrams.

• They are most useful for understanding work flow analysis of


synchronous behaviors across a process.

2
Activity Diagram

• Activity diagrams are used for


– documenting existing process
– analyzing new Process Concepts
– finding reengineering opportunities.

• The diagrams describe the state of activities by showing the


sequence of activities performed.
– they can show activities that are conditional or parallel.

3
Activity Diagram Concepts

• An activity is trigged by one or more events and activity may


result in one or more events that may trigger other activity or
processes.

• Events start from start symbol and end with finish marker
having activities in between connected by events.

• The activity diagram represents the decisions, iterations and


parallel/random behavior of the processing.
– They capture actions performed.
– They stress on work performed in operations (methods).

4
When to Use Activity Diagrams

• The main reason to use activity diagrams is to model the


workflow behind the system being designed.

• Activity Diagrams are also useful for:


– analyzing a use case by describing what actions need to take
place and when they should occur
– describing a complicated sequential algorithm
– modeling applications with parallel processes

• Activity Diagrams should not take the place of interaction


diagrams and state diagrams.

• Activity diagrams do not give detail about how objects


behave or how objects collaborate.

5
Components

• An activity is an ongoing, though interruptible,


execution of a step in a workflow (such as an
operation or transaction)
– Represented with a rounded rectangle.
– Text in the activity box should represent an activity (verb
phrase in present tense).

6
Components

• An event is triggered by an activity. It specifies a significant


occurrence that has a location in time and space.
– An instance of an event (trigger) results in the flow from one activity to
another.
– These are represented by directed straight lines emerging from triggering
activity and ending at activity to be triggered. Label text for events
should represent event but not the data involved.

• A decision may be shown by labeling multiple output transitions of


an activity with different guard conditions.
– For convenience a stereotype is provided for a decision: the traditional
diamond shape, with one or more incoming arrows and with two or more
outgoing arrows, each labeled by a distinct guard condition with no event
trigger.

7
How to Draw an Activity Diagram

• Diagrams are read from top to bottom and have branches and
forks to describe conditions and parallel activities.
– A fork is used when multiple activities are occurring at the same
time.

– A branch describes what activities will take place based on a set


of conditions.

– All branches at some point are followed by a merge to indicate


the end of the conditional behavior started by that branch.

– After the merge all of the parallel activities must be combined by


a join before transitioning into the final activity state.

8
Activity Diagram Example
Start State

Activity
Fork

Branch

Merge Join

End State
9
Use Case

• Withdraw money from a bank account through an


ATM

10
11
Disadvantages

• A disadvantage of activity diagrams is that they do not


explicitly present which objects execute which activities, and
the way that the messaging works between them.
– Labeling of each activity with the responsible object can be done.
– It is useful to draw an activity diagram early in the modeling of a
process, to help understand the overall process.

• Then interaction diagrams can be used to help you allocate


activities to classes.

12
References

• Activity Diagrams
• http://pigseye.kennesaw.edu/~dbraun/csis4650/A&D/UML_tutorial/acti
vity.htm
• http://isds.bus.lsu.edu/cvoc/learn/bpr/cprojects/spring1998/modeling/a
ctivity.html
• http://www-106.ibm.com/developerworks/rational/library/2802.html
• Fast Track UML 2 (from Books 24x7)

13

You might also like