Hierarchy of

Technical Documents

Technical Documents are built on top of User or Client requirements. From a very high level
overview of the application (which clients understand), technical documents are derived for the
purpose of guiding developers in building the application.

Ideally, Technical documents must be completely finished before any coding process. But most often
than not, documents created at the Design Phase of the SDLC are created at the most detailed level
as possible based on the current data gathered in Functional Specs, but are proven incomplete in the
implementation stage. Therefore, the main purpose of doing Technical documents is to serve as a
bible, a guide for all developers to follow, but expect updates of these documents after
implementation and testing.

The illustration below illustrates how documents are usually built from FS (requirement Specs) up to
the level of the Interaction diagrams.

Sequence Diagram State Diagram Activity Diagram

Class Diagram Package Diagram

Use Case Component Diagram Deployment Diagram

Functional / Non-Functional Specs

Requirements Specs

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 Use Case Diagram

Use case diagrams describe what a system does from the standpoint of an external observer. The
emphasis is on what a system does rather than how.

Use case diagrams are closely connected to scenarios. A scenario is an example of what happens
when someone interacts with the system. Here is a scenario for a medical clinic.

"A patient calls the clinic to make an appointment for a yearly checkup. The receptionist finds
the nearest empty time slot in the appointment book and schedules the appointment for that
time slot. "

A use case is a summary of scenarios for a single task or goal. An actor is who or what initiates the
events involved in that task. Actors are simply roles that people or objects play. The picture below is a
Make Appointment use case for the medical clinic. The actor is a Patient. The connection between
actor and use case is a communication association (or communication for short).

Actors are stick figures. Use cases are ovals. Communications are lines that link actors to use cases.

A use case diagram is a collection of actors, use cases, and their communications. We've put Make
Appointment as part of a diagram with four actors and four use cases. Notice that a single use case
can have multiple actors.

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Medical clinic diagram, expanded
The following use case diagram expands the original medical clinic diagram with additional features.

A system boundary rectangle separates the clinic system from the external actors.

A use case generalization shows that one use case is simply a special kind of another. Pay Bill is a
parent use case and Bill Insurance is the child. A child can be substituted for its parent whenever
necessary. Generalization appears as a line with a triangular arrow head toward the parent use case.

Include relationships factor use cases into additional ones. Includes are especially helpful when the
same use case can be factored out of two different use cases. Both Make Appointment and
Request Medication include Check Patient Record as a subtask. In the diagram, include notation is
a dotted line beginning at base use case ending with an arrows pointing to the include use case. The
dotted line is labeled <<include>>.

An extend relationship indicates that one use case is a variation of another. Extend notation is a
dotted line, labeled <<extend>>, and with an arrow toward the base case. The extension point,
which determines when the extended case is appropriate, is written inside the base case.

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When to Use: Use Cases Diagrams
Use cases are used in almost every project. These are helpful in exposing requirements and
planning the project. During the initial stage of a project most use cases should be defined, but as the
project continues more might become visible.
Use case diagrams are helpful in three areas.
• determining features (requirements). New use cases often generate new requirements as
the system is analyzed and the design takes shape.
• communicating with clients. Their notational simplicity makes use case diagrams a good
way for developers to communicate with clients.
• generating test cases. The collection of scenarios for a use case may suggest a suite of test
cases for those scenarios.

How to Draw: Use Cases Diagrams

Use cases are a relatively easy UML diagram to draw, but this is a very simplified example.
Start by listing a sequence of steps a user might take in order to complete an action. For example a
user placing an order with a sales company might follow these steps.
1. Browse catalog and select items.
2. Call sales representative.
3. Supply shipping information.
4. Supply payment information.
5. Receive conformation number from salesperson.
These steps would generate this simple use case diagram:

From this simple diagram the requirements of the ordering system can easily be derived. The system
will need to be able to perform actions for all of the use cases listed. As the project progresses other
use cases might appear. The customer might have a need to add an item to an order that has
already been placed. This diagram can easily be expanded until a complete description of the
ordering system is derived capturing all of the requirements that the system will need to perform.

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 Class Diagram

A Class diagram gives an overview of a system by showing its classes and the relationships among
them. Class diagrams are static -- they display what interacts but not what happens when they do
interact.

The class diagram below models a customer order from a retail catalog. The central class is the
Order. Associated with it are the Customer making the purchase and the Payment. A Payment is
one of three kinds: Cash, Check, or Credit. The order contains OrderDetails (line items), each with
its associated Item.

UML class notation is a rectangle divided into three parts: class name, attributes, and operations.
Names of abstract classes, such as Payment, are in italics. Relationships between classes are the
connecting links.

Our class diagram has three kinds of relationships.

• association -- a relationship between instances of the two classes. There is an association

between two classes if an instance of one class must know about the other in order to
perform its work. In a diagram, an association is a link connecting two classes.
• aggregation -- an association in which one class belongs to a collection. An aggregation has
a diamond end pointing to the part containing the whole. In our diagram, Order has a
collection of OrderDetails.
• generalization -- an inheritance link indicating one class is a superclass of the other. A
generalization has a triangle pointing to the superclass. Payment is a superclass of Cash,
Check, and Credit.

An association has two ends. An end may have a role name to clarify the nature of the association.
For example, an OrderDetail is a line item of each Order.

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A navigability arrow on an association shows which direction the association can be traversed or
queried. An OrderDetail can be queried about its Item, but not the other way around. The arrow also
lets you know who "owns" the association's implementation; in this case, OrderDetail has an Item.
Associations with no navigability arrows are bi-directional.

The multiplicity of an association end is the number of possible instances of the class associated
with a single instance of the other end. Multiplicities are single numbers or ranges of numbers. In our
example, there can be only one Customer for each Order, but a Customer can have any number of
Orders.

This table gives the most common multiplicities.

Multiplicities Meaning
0..1 zero or one instance. The notation n . . m indicates n to m instances.
0..* or * no limit on the number of instances (including none).
1 exactly one instance
1..* at least one instance

Every class diagram has classes, associations, and multiplicities. Navigability and roles are optional
items placed in a diagram to provide clarity.

Composition and aggregation

Associations in which an object is part of a whole are aggregations. Composition is a strong
association in which the part can belong to only one whole -- the part cannot exist without the whole.
Composition is denoted by a filled diamond at the whole end.

This diagram shows that a BoxOffice belongs to exactly one MovieTheater. Destroy the
MovieTheater and the BoxOffice goes away! The collection of Movies is not so closely bound to the
MovieTheater.

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Class information: visibility and scope
The class notation is a 3-piece rectangle with the class name, attributes, and operations. Attributes
and operations can be labeled according to access and scope. Here is a new, expanded Order class.

The illustration uses the following UML™ conventions.

• Static members are underlined. Instance members are not.

• The operations follow this form:
<access specifier> <name> ( <parameter list>) : <return type>
• The parameter list shows each parameter type preceded by a colon.
• Access specifiers appear in front of each member.

Symbol Access
+ public
- private
# protected

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Dependencies and constraints
A dependency is a relation between two classes in which a change in one may force changes in the
other. Dependencies are drawn as dotted lines. In the class diagram below, Co_op depends on
Company. If you decide to modify Company, you may have to change Co_op too.

A constraint is a condition that every implementation of the design must satisfy. Constraints are
written in curly braces { }. The constraint on our diagram indicates that a Section can be part of a
CourseSchedule only if it is not canceled.

Interfaces and stereotypes

An interface is a set of operation signatures. In C++, interfaces are implemented as abstract classes
with only pure virtual members. in Java, they're implemented directly.

The class diagram below is a model of a professional conference. The classes of interest to the
conference are SessionTalk, which is a single presentation, and Session, which is a one-day
collection of related SessionTalks. The ShuttleSchedule with its list of ShuttleStops is important to
the attendees staying at remote hotels. The diagram has one constraint, that the ShuttleStops are
ordered.

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There are three interfaces in the diagram: IDated, ILocatable, and ITimed. The names of interfaces
typically begin with the letter I. Interface names along with their (abstract) operations are written in
italics.
A class such as ShuttleStop, with operations matching those in an interface, such as ILocatable, is
an implementation (or realization) of the interface.
The ShuttleStop class node has the stereotype << place>>. Stereotypes, which provide a way of
extending UML, are new kinds of model elements created from existing kinds. A stereotype name is
written above the class name. Ordinary stereotype names are enclosed in guillemets, which look like
pairs of angle-braces. An interface is a special kind of stereotype.
There are two acceptable notations for interfaces in the UML. The first is illustrated above. The
second uses the lollipop or circle notation.

In circle notation, the interfaces are circles with lines connected to the implementing classes. Since it
is more compact but leaves out some detail, the lollipop notation simplifies the original diagram.

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When to Use: Class Diagrams
Class diagrams are used in nearly all Object Oriented software designs. Use them to describe the
Classes of the system and their relationships to each other.

How to Draw: Class Diagrams

Class diagrams are some of the most difficult UML diagrams to draw. To draw detailed and useful
diagrams a person would have to study UML and Object Oriented principles for a long time.
Therefore, this page will give a very high level overview of the process.

Before drawing a class diagram consider the three different perspectives of the system the diagram
will present; conceptual, specification, and implementation. Try not to focus on one perspective and
try see how they all work together.

When designing classes consider what attributes and operations it will have. Then try to determine
how instances of the classes will interact with each other. These are the very first steps of many in
developing a class diagram. However, using just these basic techniques one can develop a complete
view of the software system.

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 Interaction Diagrams:
Sequence and Collaboration

Class and object diagrams are static model views. Interaction diagrams are dynamic. They describe
how objects collaborate.

Sequence Diagram
A sequence diagram is an interaction diagram that details how operations are carried out -- what
messages are sent and when. Sequence diagrams are organized according to time. The time
progresses as you go down the page. The objects involved in the operation are listed from left to right
according to when they take part in the message sequence.

Below is a sequence diagram for making a hotel reservation. The object initiating the sequence of
messages is a Reservation window.

The Reservation window sends a makeReservation() message to a HotelChain. The HotelChain

then sends a makeReservation() message to a Hotel. If the Hotel has available rooms, then it makes
a Reservation and a Confirmation.
Each vertical dotted line is a lifeline, representing the time that an object exists. Each arrow is a
message call. An arrow goes from the sender to the top of the activation bar of the message on the
receiver's lifeline. The activation bar represents the duration of execution of the message.

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In our diagram, the Hotel issues a self call to determine if a room is available. If so, then the Hotel
creates a Reservation and a Confirmation. The asterisk on the self call means iteration (to make
sure there is available room for each day of the stay in the hotel). The expression in square brackets,
[ ], is a condition.
The diagram has a clarifying note, which is text inside a dog-eared rectangle. Notes can be put into
any kind of UML diagram.

Sequence diagrams with asynchronous messages

A message is asynchronous if it allows its sender to send additional messages while the original is
being processed. The timing of an asynchronous message is independent of the timing of the
intervening messages.

The following sequence diagram illustrates the action of a nurse requesting a diagnostic test at a
medical lab. There are two asynchronous messages from the Nurse: 1) ask the MedicalLab to
reserve a date for the test and 2) ask the InsuranceCompany to approve the test. The order in which
these messages are sent or completed is irrelevant. If the InsuranceCompany approves the test,
then the Nurse will schedule the test on the date supplied by the MedicalLab.

The UML™ uses the following message conventions.

Symbol Meaning
simple message which may be synchronous or asynchronous
simple message return (optional)
a synchronous message

an asynchronous message

balking

Time Out

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Collaboration Diagram
Collaboration diagrams are also interaction diagrams. They convey the same information as
sequence diagrams, but they focus on object roles instead of the times that messages are sent. In a
sequence diagram, object roles are the vertices and messages are the connecting links.

The object-role rectangles are labeled with either class or object names (or both). Class names are
preceded by colons ( : ).

Each message in a collaboration diagram has a sequence number. The top-level message is
numbered 1. Messages at the same level (sent during the same call) have the same decimal prefix
but suffixes of 1, 2, etc. according to when they occur.

When to Use: Interaction Diagrams

Interaction diagrams are used when you want to model the behavior of several objects in a use case.
They demonstrate how the objects collaborate for the behavior. Interaction diagrams do not give a in
depth representation of the behavior. If you want to see what a specific object is doing for several
use cases use a state diagram.

How to Draw: Interaction Diagrams

Sequence diagrams, collaboration diagrams, or both diagrams can be used to demonstrate the
interaction of objects in a use case. Sequence diagrams generally show the sequence of events that
occur. Collaboration diagrams demonstrate how objects are statically connected. Both diagrams are
relatively simple to draw and contain similar elements.

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Sequence Diagrams
Sequence diagrams demonstrate the behavior of objects in a use case by describing the objects and
the messages they pass. the diagrams are read left to right and descending. The example below
shows an object of class 1 start the behavior by sending a message to an object of class 2.
Messages pass between the different objects until the object of class 1 receives the final message.

Below is a slightly more complex example. The light blue vertical rectangles the objects activation
while the green vertical dashed lines represent the life of the object. The green vertical rectangles
represent when a particular object has control. The represents when the object is destroyed. This
diagrams also shows conditions for messages to be sent to other object. The condition is listed
between brackets next to the message. For example, a [condition] has to be met before the object of
class 2 can send a message() to the object of class 3.

The next diagram shows the beginning of a sequence diagram for placing an order. The object an
Order Entry Window is created and sends a message to an Order object to prepare the order. Notice
the the names of the objects are followed by a colon. The names of the classes the objects belong to
do not have to be listed. However the colon is required to denote that it is the name of an object
following the objectName:className naming system.

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Next the Order object checks to see if the item is in stock and if the [InStock] condition is met it sends
a message to create an new Delivery Item object.

The next diagrams adds another conditional message to the Order object. If the item is [OutOfStock]
it sends a message back to the Order Entry Window object stating that the object is out of stack.

This simple diagram shows the sequence that messages are passed between objects to complete a
use case for ordering an item.

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Collaboration Diagrams
Collaboration diagrams are also relatively easy to draw. They show the relationship between objects
and the order of messages passed between them. The objects are listed as icons and arrows
indicate the messages being passed between them. The numbers next to the messages are called
sequence numbers. As the name suggests, they show the sequence of the messages as they are
passed between the objects. There are many acceptable sequence numbering schemes in UML. A
simple 1, 2, 3... format can be used, as the example below shows, or for more detailed and complex
diagrams a 1, 1.1 ,1.2, 1.2.1... scheme can be used.

The example below shows a simple collaboration diagram for the placing an order use case. This
time the names of the objects appear after the colon, such as :Order Entry Window following the
objectName:className naming convention. This time the class name is shown to demonstrate that
all of objects of that class will behave the same way.

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 Statechart Diagram

Objects have behaviors and state. The state of an object depends on its current activity or condition.
A statechart diagram shows the possible states of the object and the transitions that cause a
change in state.

Our example diagram models the login part of an online banking system. Logging in consists of
entering a valid social security number and personal id number, then submitting the information for
validation.

Logging in can be factored into four non-overlapping states: Getting SSN, Getting PIN, Validating,
and Rejecting. From each state comes a complete set of transitions that determine the subsequent
state.

States are rounded rectangles. Transitions are arrows from one state to another. Events or conditions
that trigger transitions are written beside the arrows. Our diagram has two self-transition, one on
Getting SSN and another on Getting PIN.

The initial state (black circle) is a dummy to start the action. Final states are also dummy states that
terminate the action.

The action that occurs as a result of an event or condition is expressed in the form /action. While in its
Validating state, the object does not wait for an outside event to trigger a transition. Instead, it
performs an activity. The result of that activity determines its subsequent state.

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Concurrency and asynchronization in statechart diagrams
States in statechart diagrams can be nested. Related states can be grouped together into a single
composite state. Nesting states is necessary when an activity involves concurrent or asynchronous
subactivities.

The following statechart diagram models an auction with two concurrent threads leading into two
substates of the composite state Auction: Bidding and Authorizing Credit. Bidding itself is a
composite state with three substates. Authorizing Credit has two substates.

Entering the Auction requires a fork at the start into two separate threads. Unless there is an
abnormal exit (Cancelled or Rejected), the exit from the Auction composite state occurs when both
substates have exited.

When to Use: State Diagrams

Use state diagrams to demonstrate the behavior of an object through many use cases of the system.
Only use state diagrams for classes where it is necessary to understand the behavior of the object
through the entire system. Not all classes will require a state diagram and state diagrams are not
useful for describing the collaboration of all objects in a use case. State diagrams are other
combined with other diagrams such as interaction diagrams and activity diagrams.

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How to Draw: State Diagrams
State diagrams have very few elements. The basic elements are rounded boxes representing the
state of the object and arrows indicting the transition to the next state. The activity section of the
state symbol depicts what activities the object will be doing while it is in that state.

All state diagrams being with an initial state of the object. This is the state of the object when it is
created. After the initial state the object begins changing states. Conditions based on the activities
can determine what the next state the object transitions to.

Below is an example of a state diagram might look like for an Order object. When the object enters
the Checking state it performs the activity "check items." After the activity is completed the object
transitions to the next state based on the conditions [all items available] or [an item is not available].
If an item is not available the order is canceled. If all items are available then the order is
dispatched. When the object transitions to the Dispatching state the activity "initiate delivery" is
performed. After this activity is complete the object transitions again to the Delivered state.

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State diagrams can also show a super-state for the object. A super-state is used when many
transitions lead to the a certain state. Instead of showing all of the transitions from each state to the
redundant state a super-state can be used to show that all of the states inside of the super-state can
transition to the redundant state. This helps make the state diagram easier to read.

The diagram below shows a super-state. Both the Checking and Dispatching states can transition
into the Canceled state, so a transition is shown from a super-state named Active to the state
Cancel. By contrast, the state Dispatching can only transition to the Delivered state, so we show an
arrow only from the Dispatching state to the Delivered state.

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 Activity Diagram
An activity diagram is essentially a fancy flowchart. Activity diagrams and statechart diagrams are
related. While a statechart diagram focuses attention on an object undergoing a process (or on a
process as an object), an activity diagram focuses on the flow of activities involved in a single
process. The activity diagram shows the how those activities depend on one another.
For our example, we used the following process.
"Withdraw money from a bank account through an ATM."
The three involved classes (people, etc.) of the activity are Customer, ATM, and Bank. The process
begins at the black start circle at the top and ends at the concentric white/black stop circles at the
bottom. The activities are rounded rectangles.

Activity diagrams can be divided into object swimlanes that determine which object is responsible for
which activity. A single transition comes out of each activity, connecting it to the next activity.
A transition may branch into two or more mutually exclusive transitions. Guard expressions (inside [
]) label the transitions coming out of a branch. A branch and its subsequent merge marking the end
of the branch appear in the diagram as hollow diamonds.
A transition may fork into two or more parallel activities. The fork and the subsequent join of the
threads coming out of the fork appear in the diagram as solid bars.

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When to Use: Activity Diagrams
Activity diagrams should be used in conjunction with other modeling techniques such as interaction
diagrams and state diagrams. The main reason to use activity diagrams is to model the workflow
behind the system being designed. Activity Diagrams are also useful for: analyzing a use case by
describing what actions need to take place and when they should occur; describing a complicated
sequential algorithm; and modeling applications with parallel processes. 1

However, activity diagrams should not take the place of interaction diagrams and state diagrams.
Activity diagrams do not give detail about how objects behave or how objects collaborate.

How to Draw: Activity Diagrams

Activity diagrams show the flow of activities through the system. Diagrams are read from top to
bottom and have branches and forks to describe conditions and parallel activities. A fork is used
when multiple activities are occurring at the same time. The diagram below shows a fork after
activity1. This indicates that both activity2 and activity3 are occurring at the same time. After
activity2 there is a branch. The branch describes what activities will take place based on a set of
conditions. All branches at some point are followed by a merge to indicate the end of the conditional
behavior started by that branch. After the merge all of the parallel activities must be combined by a
join before transitioning into the final activity state.

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Below is a possible activity diagram for processing an order. The diagram shows the flow of actions
in the system's workflow. Once the order is received the activities split into two parallel sets of
activities. One side fills and sends the order while the other handles the billing. On the Fill Order
side, the method of delivery is decided conditionally. Depending on the condition either the Overnight
Delivery activity or the Regular Delivery activity is performed. Finally the parallel activities combine to
close the order.

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 Physical Diagrams:
Deployment and Component

A component is a code module. Component diagrams are physical analogs of class diagram.
Deployment diagrams show the physical configurations of software and hardware.

The following deployment diagram shows the relationships among software and hardware
components involved in real estate transactions.

The physical hardware is made up of nodes. Each component belongs on a node. Components are
shown as rectangles with two tabs at the upper left.

When to Use: Physical Diagrams

Physical diagrams are used when development of the system is complete. Physical diagrams are
used to give descriptions of the physical information about a system.

How to Draw: Physical Diagrams

Many times the deployment and component diagrams are combined into one physical diagram. A
combined deployment and component diagram combines the features of both diagrams into one
diagram.

The deployment diagram contains nodes and connections. A node usually represents a piece of
hardware in the system. A connection depicts the communication path used by the hardware to
communicate and usually indicates a method such as TCP/IP.

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The component diagram contains components and dependencies. Components represent the
physical packaging of a module of code. The dependencies between the components show how
changes made to one component may affect the other components in the system. Dependencies in a
component diagram are represented by a dashed line between two or more components.
Component diagrams can also show the interfaces used by the components to communicate to each
other. 1

The combined deployment and component diagram below gives a high level physical description of
the completed system. The diagram shows two nodes which represent two machines communicating
through TCP/IP. Component2 is dependant on component1, so changes to component 2 could affect
component1. The diagram also depicts component3 interfacing with component1. This diagram gives
the reader a quick overall view of the entire system.

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 Package and Object Diagram

Package Diagram
To simplify complex class diagrams, you can group classes into packages. A package is a collection
of logically related UML elements. The diagram below is a business model in which the classes are
grouped into packages.

Packages appear as rectangles with small tabs at the top. The package name is on the tab or inside
the rectangle. The dotted arrows are dependencies. One package depends on another if changes in
the other could possibly force changes in the first.

Object Diagram
Object diagrams show instances instead of classes. They are useful for explaining small pieces with
complicated relationships, especially recursive relationships.

This small class diagram shows that a university Department can contain lots of other Departments.

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The object diagram below instantiates the class diagram, replacing it by a concrete example.

Each rectangle in the object diagram corresponds to a single instance. Instance names are
underlined in UML diagrams. Class or instance names may be omitted from object diagrams as long
as the diagram meaning is still clear.

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