What is a Use Case?

What is the Use Case?

A use case is a series of interactions between a role and a system to achieve a particular goal. When the user uses the product or interacts with the system, it is called a use case. 

All of the functions carried out by the user and the system’s performance are detailed and recorded by the use case. Product management (problem space) develops and presents user-focused use cases for development with the help of product management tools. 

Usually, use cases detail only a single function or event of the product. When multiple processes or events to describe, they are called a scenario.

 This way forward, the scenario can illustrate the story and give a gist of an event or event. 

Use case vs User flow

A use case is a series of instructions for completing a given job or objective. There can be multiple paths to the goal in use case. 

It provides a clear and straight approach to one operation. A case scenario represents a goal with numerous processes.

The use case provides solutions to questions such as:

• What is the task’s scenario – perspective?
• What are the process’s prerequisites?
• What are the possible exceptions to the task?
• What method will you use to complete the task?
• What kinds of mistakes might we make along the way?

A user flow is a pictorial depiction of a use case or use case scenario in better detail. Flow charts represent navigation as a map, with forms and visuals conveying screen information. They also represent navigation indications describing screen interactivity. 

You cannot use flow charts as documentation in complicated circumstances. 

The diagram can become excessively vast and challenging to read when the use cases incorporate several screens or elements. And even navigation specifications.

What are the examples of a use case?

The 1850s safety elevator designed by Elisha Otis was a technological accomplishment. But elevators still require considerable experience to operate effectively. 

Uniformed elevator operators filled the void. However, they remained in service long after automatic elevators became commonplace.

Patrons of department stores and inhabitants of luxury high-rises have had a slew of embarrassing meetings with attendants. Many of whom are still full-time and liveried. That’s a steep fee to pay for a service that had degraded value.

Are there any no-value-added hangovers in your company? A use case can assist you in identifying them and streamlining your procedures. 

Suppose you’re familiar with lean business principles. In that case, you might already be ahead of the game in detecting value stream bottlenecks.

Consider, for instance, an online store and a meal delivery service. Two separate use cases are a customer taking the order and verifying if a restaurant is accessible. 

Use a toaster if you want to keep things simple. Assume a person (the actor) wants one side of their bagel toasted. A use case is selecting the toaster setting “bagel.”

Use cases are rich in specifics that help teams structure the many functional requirements and identify the project’s scope.

How to write a use case?

Based on the target audience and system, the use case might be as extensive or fundamental as necessary. A use case document should define and identify a few critical elements, including:

System:

A system is the product, service, or program that gets discussed.

Actors: 

An actor is a client or anything else that interacts with the system and displays behavior. The actor could be other systems, a component of hardware, or a whole organization.

In a system under debate, an internal actor, a prominent actor, and a secondary actor are the four sorts of actors. 

The latter two approaches are among the most usually mentioned. A primary actor initiates the engagement with the system.

 In contrast, a secondary actor may provide a service to the platform.

Scenario:

A scenario is a particular sequence of activities and interactions among actors and the system. It is often called a use case instance.

Use case: 

Whenever the actor(s) engage with the system, a use case explains the possible success and failure scenarios. The critical success scenario, i.e., the ideal result between the actor and the system, would be established in this part. 

You’d also define the alternative paths, which describe what occurs if something goes wrong.