Diagrams

Use Case and Context Diagrams

Both a Use Case Diagram and a Context Diagram are used to provide a high-level illustration of a system that are used to visualize dependencies. While the Use Case Diagram highlights dependencies between specific goals of the system, the Context Diagram illustrates dependencies between the system and external sources or sinks (MiroBlog, 2023). The Use Case Diagram can be used to inform stakeholders with individual concerns how their system functions will interact with others, and the Context Diagram can be used to define and communicate the boundaries of the system (Jama Software, 2023).

Decision Trees, Decision Tables and Structured English all share the same purpose of communicating process rules, logic and flow to technical and non-technical stakeholders. Structured English functions like a story and is similar to a "Choose your own adventure" book where a reader can follow the path through the process by reading and is good for stakeholders who appreciate a narrative structure for understanding information. Decision tables present information in a tabular format and are best presented to stakeholders used to this sort of presentation or as a method to make sure that multiple combinations of conditions are all accounted for. A Decision Tree is the best for visual presentation and to stakeholders who prefer a visual learning style and for the clearest presentation (W3Computing, 2021).

References

Jama Software. (2023, January 13). Defining project scope: context and use case diagrams. https://www.jamasoftware.com/blog/defining-project-scope-context-use-case-diagrams/

MiroBlog. (2023, September 17). What is a context diagram and how do you use it? https://miro.com/blog/context-diagram/

W3Computing. (2021, May 18). Process specifications and structured decisions. https://www.w3computing.com/systemsanalysis/process-specifications-structured-decisions-intro/