3.6 KiB
3.6 KiB
Quality Criteria: Use Case (Brief / Casual / Fully Dressed)
Metadata
| Key | Value |
|---|---|
| ID | QC-UC-001 |
| CrossReference | QC-UCD-001, QC-US-001, QC-SA-001, QC-DM-001, QC-SSD-001 |
| DomainLanguages | IT Professional English |
Version History
| Date | Status | Author | Reviewer | Change | Commit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-10-01 | Accepted | Jens Tirsvad Nielsen | S07 | First public release (1.0.0) | — |
Purpose
Use cases describe actor-goal-driven system behavior at three levels of formality (Brief, Casual, Fully Dressed, per Larman's Applying UML and Patterns), providing the functional detail that bridges stakeholder intent and downstream design artifacts such as the Domain Model and System Sequence Diagrams.
Quality Criteria Checklist
Level: Mandatory criteria are the baseline every instance must meet; Optional criteria are advanced and may be deferred.
| # | Criterion | Level | Format | ISO/IEC 25010 Characteristic(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Consists of a single, concise paragraph summarizing only the primary success scenario | Mandatory | Brief | Functional Suitability | |
| 2 | Written as an informal multi-paragraph narrative; may mention some alternate flows without formal structure | Mandatory | Casual | Functional Suitability | |
| 3 | All standard sections are present: actors, preconditions, postconditions, main success scenario, alternative/exception flows | Mandatory | Fully Dressed | Functional Suitability, Maintainability | |
| 4 | Preconditions and postconditions are explicitly defined | Mandatory | All | Functional Suitability | |
| 5 | Primary actor is explicitly stated | Mandatory | All | Functional Suitability | |
| 6 | Stakeholders and their interests are stated | Mandatory | Fully Dressed | Functional Suitability | |
| 7 | Main success scenario is written as clear, numbered steps | Mandatory | Fully Dressed | Usability, Maintainability | |
| 8 | Alternative/exception flows correctly reference <<include>>/<<extend>> use cases where relevant, per UML 2.5.1 |
Mandatory | Fully Dressed | Functional Suitability, Maintainability | |
| 9 | Explicit business rules are captured per step where applicable, rather than embedded loosely in narrative text | Optional | Fully Dressed | Functional Suitability, Reliability | |
| 10 | Naming of actors and use case title is consistent with the corresponding Use Case Diagram and User Stories | Mandatory | All | Compatibility, Maintainability | |
| 11 | Scope/level (e.g. summary, user-goal, subfunction) is explicitly stated | Optional | All | Usability, Maintainability | |
| 12 | Use case is written from the actor's goal perspective, free of UI or implementation detail | Mandatory | All | Usability, Portability |
Common Defects
- Fully Dressed use case missing postconditions or exception/alternative flows
- Brief use case bloated with step-by-step detail that belongs in the Fully Dressed format
- Casual use case omitting the primary actor or the actor's goal
- Business rules embedded loosely in narrative text instead of stated explicitly per step
- Inconsistent actor or use case naming versus the corresponding Use Case Diagram
Traceability Rule
- Backward: Use Case Diagram checklist (QC-UCD-001), User Story checklist (QC-US-001), Stakeholder Analysis checklist (QC-SA-001)
- Forward: Domain Model checklist (QC-DM-001), System Sequence Diagram checklist (QC-SSD-001)