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UML
2 interaction overview diagrams
are variants on
UML activity diagrams which overview control flow.
Figure 1 depicts an interaction
overview diagram for enrolling in a seminar. The nodes
within the diagram are frames instead of the normal
activities which you would see on an activity diagram.
There are two types of frame shown: interaction frames
which depict any type of UML interaction diagram (sequence
diagram,
communication diagram,
timing diagram, interaction overview diagram) or
interaction occurrence frames which indicate an activity
or operation to invoke. There are two interaction
frames in the diagram, one which depicts a sequence
diagram for determining whether a student is eligible to
enroll in a seminar and a communication diagram to
determine if a seat is available in a seminar. These
frames indicate the type of diagram (sd for
sequence diagrams, cd for communication diagrams,
td for timing diagrams, and iod for
interaction overview diagrams) and optionally the name
of the diagram. The interaction occurrence frames are of
type ref and typically are anonymous as the name
of the activity or operation to be invoked should make
it clear what is happening (otherwise you need to
rethink your naming strategy). |
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Figure 1. Enrolling in a
seminar.
The other notation used on the
diagram should be familiar to you. Decision points are
shown as diamonds, exactly on UML activity diagrams.
There should be guards on all of the exiting flows
although as you can see I’ll forgo labeling some guards
when it is obvious what is meant. Remember, agile
models don’t need to be perfect, they need to be
just barely good enough. Duration constraints, such as
{0..7 msec}, are shown using the same notation as on
other types of interaction diagrams. The start and end
points use the same notation as initial and end states
on
UML state machine diagrams and UML activity
diagrams.
Although interaction overview
diagrams are an interesting concept I doubt that they’ll
be used in practice. Interaction frames are virtually
useless due to a lack of space – the diagrams that you
can depict within the frames will be too small to be of
value. My suspicion is that interaction overview
diagrams will be abandoned within the marketplace in
favor of UML activity diagrams because they don’t work
well on whiteboards and the CASE tool vendors can simply
allow you to use other diagrams to describe the details
of activities. Perhaps I’m wrong about this, time will
tell.
This artifact description is excerpted from Chapter 11 of
The Object Primer 3rd Edition: Agile Model Driven
Development with UML 2.
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The Object Primer 3rd Edition: Agile Model Driven
Development with UML 2 is an
important reference book for agile modelers,
describing how to develop 35
types of agile
models including all 13
UML 2 diagrams.
Furthermore, this book describes the techniques
of the
Full Lifecycle Object Oriented Testing
(FLOOT) methodology to give you the fundamental
testing skills which you require to succeed at
agile software development. The book also
shows how to move from your agile models to
source code (Java examples are provided) as well
as how to succeed at implementation techniques
such as
refactoring and
test-driven development
(TDD). The Object Primer also includes a
chapter overviewing the critical database
development techniques (database refactoring,
object/relational mapping,
legacy analysis, and
database access coding) from my award-winning
Agile Database Techniques
book. |
 |
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Agile Modeling: Effective Practices for Extreme
Programming and the Unified Process is the seminal
book describing how agile software developers approach
modeling and
documentation. It describes principles and
practices which you can tailor into your existing
software process, such as
XP, the
Rational Unified Process (RUP), or the
Agile Unified Process (AUP), to streamline your
modeling and documentation efforts. Modeling and
documentation are important aspects of any software
project, including agile projects, and this book
describes in detail how to
elicit requirements,
architect, and then
design your system in an agile manner. |
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The Elements of UML 2.0 Style describes a collection
of standards, conventions, and
guidelines
for creating effective
UML diagrams. They are based on sound, proven
software engineering principles that lead to diagrams
that are easier to understand and work with. These
conventions exist as a collection of simple, concise
guidelines that if applied consistently, represent an
important first step in increasing your productivity as
a modeler. This book is oriented towards
intermediate to advanced UML modelers, although there
are numerous examples throughout the book it would not
be a good way to learn the UML (instead, consider
The Object Primer). The book is a brief 188
pages long and is conveniently pocket-sized so it's easy
to carry around. |
I actively work with clients around the world to
improve their information technology (IT) practices as
both a mentor/coach and trainer. A full
description of what I do, and how to contact me, can be
found here.
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