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software engineering

Software engineering Notes Few topics Included

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software engineering

Software engineering Notes Few topics Included

Uploaded by

Saba S
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Software engineering

UNIT 3 SYSTEM MODELLING

System modeling is the process of developing abstract models of a system, with each model
presenting a different view or perspective of that system. It is about representing a system using
some kind of graphical notation, which is now almost always based on notations in the Unified
Modeling Language (UML). Models help the analyst to understand the functionality of the
system; they are used to communicate with customers.
Models can explain the system from different perspectives:

1. An external perspective, where you model the context or environment of the system.
2. An interaction perspective, where you model the interactions between a system and its
environment, or between the components of a system.
3. A structural perspective, where you model the organization of a system or the structure
of the data that is processed by the system.
4. A behavioral perspective, where you model the dynamic behavior of the system and how
it responds to events.

Five types of UML diagrams that are the most useful for system modeling:

1. Activity diagrams, which show the activities involved in a process or in data processing.
2. Use case diagrams, which show the interactions between a system and its environment.
3. Sequence diagrams, which show interactions between actors and the system and between
system components.
4. Class diagrams, which show the object classes in the system and the associations
between these classes.
5. State diagrams, which show how the system reacts to internal and external events.

Context and process models


Context models are used to illustrate the operational context of a system - they show what lies
outside the system boundaries. Social and organizational concerns may affect the decision on
where to position system boundaries. Architectural models show the system and its relationship
with other systems.
System boundaries are established to define what is inside and what is outside the system. They
show other systems that are used or depend on the system being developed. The position of the
system boundary has a profound effect on the system requirements. Defining a system boundary
is a political judgment since there may be pressures to develop system boundaries that
increase/decrease the influence or workload of different parts of an organization.
Context models simply show the other systems in the environment, not how the system being
developed is used in that environment. Process models reveal how the system being developed
is used in broader business processes. UML activity diagrams may be used to define business
process models.

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The example below shows a UML activity diagram describing the process of involuntary
detention and the role of MHC-PMS (mental healthcare patient management system) in it.

Interaction models
Types of interactions that can be represented in a model:

 Modeling user interaction is important as it helps to identify user requirements.


 Modeling system-to-system interaction highlights the communication problems that
may arise.
 Modeling component interaction helps us understand if a proposed system structure
is likely to deliver the required system performance and dependability.

Use cases were developed originally to support requirements elicitation and now incorporated
into the UML. Each use case represents a discrete task that involves external interaction with a
system. Actors in a use case may be people or other systems. Use cases can be represented using
a UML use case diagram and in a more detailed textual/tabular format.
Simple use case diagram:

Use case description in a tabular format:

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Software engineering

Use case title Transfer data


A receptionist may transfer data from the MHC-PMS to a general patient record
database that is maintained by a health authority. The information transferred
Description
may either be updated personal information (address, phone number, etc.) or a
summary of the patient's diagnosis and treatment.
Actor(s) Medical receptionist, patient records system (PRS)
Patient data has been collected (personal information, treatment summary);
Preconditions The receptionist must have appropriate security permissions to access the
patient information and the PRS.
Postconditions PRS has been updated
1. Receptionist selects the "Transfer data" option from the menu.
Main success 2. PRS verifies the security credentials of the receptionist.
scenario 3. Data is transferred.
4. PRS has been updated.
2a. The receptionist does not have the necessary security credentials.
Extensions 2a.1. An error message is displayed.
2a.2. The receptionist backs out of the use case.

UML sequence diagrams are used to model the interactions between the actors and the objects
within a system. A sequence diagram shows the sequence of interactions that take place during a
particular use case or use case instance. The objects and actors involved are listed along the top
of the diagram, with a dotted line drawn vertically from these. Interactions between objects are
indicated by annotated arrows.

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Software engineering

Structural models
Structural models of software display the organization of a system in terms of the components
that make up that system and their relationships. Structural models may be static models, which
show the structure of the system design, or dynamic models, which show the organization of the
system when it is executing. You create structural models of a system when you are discussing
and designing the system architecture.
UML class diagrams are used when developing an object-oriented system model to show the
classes in a system and the associations between these classes. An object class can be thought of
as a general definition of one kind of system object. An association is a link between classes that
indicates that there is some relationship between these classes. When you are developing models
during the early stages of the software engineering process, objects represent something in the
real world, such as a patient, a prescription, doctor, etc.

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Generalization is an everyday technique that we use to manage complexity. In modeling


systems, it is often useful to examine the classes in a system to see if there is scope for
generalization. In object-oriented languages, such as Java, generalization is implemented using
the class inheritance mechanisms built into the language. In a generalization, the attributes and
operations associated with higher-level classes are also associated with the lower-level classes.
The lower-level classes are subclasses inherit the attributes and operations from their
superclasses. These lower-level classes then add more specific attributes and operations.

An aggregation model shows how classes that are collections are composed of other classes.
Aggregation models are similar to the part-of relationship in semantic data models.

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Behavioral models
Behavioral models are models of the dynamic behavior of a system as it is executing. They
show what happens or what is supposed to happen when a system responds to a stimulus from its
environment. Two types of stimuli:

 Some data arrives that has to be processed by the system.


 Some event happens that triggers system processing. Events may have associated
data, although this is not always the case.

Many business systems are data-processing systems that are primarily driven by data. They are
controlled by the data input to the system, with relatively little external event processing. Data-
driven models show the sequence of actions involved in processing input data and generating an
associated output. They are particularly useful during the analysis of requirements as they can be
used to show end-to-end processing in a system. Data-driven models can be created using
UML activity diagrams:

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Software engineering

Data-driven models can also be created using UML sequence diagrams:

Real-time systems are often event-driven, with minimal data processing. For example, a landline
phone switching system responds to events such as 'receiver off hook' by generating a dial tone.
Event-driven models shows how a system responds to external and internal events. It is based
on the assumption that a system has a finite number of states and that events (stimuli) may cause
a transition from one state to another. Event-driven models can be created using UML state
diagrams:

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Model driven engineering

Usage of MDE

Model driven archietecture

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Types of model

MDA transformation

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Platform specific model

Agile method and MDA

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Adoption of MDA

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