Specifying Precise Use Cases with Use Case Charts

Use cases are a popular method for capturing and structuring software requirements. The informality of use cases is both a blessing and a curse. It enables easy application and learning but is a barrier to automated methods for test case generation, validation or simulation. This paper presents use case charts, a precise way of specifying use cases that aims to retain the benefits of easy understanding but also supports automated analysis. The graphical and abstract syntax of use case charts are given, along with a sketch of their formal semantics.

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