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    Developing Use Cases and Process Models

    Gain the tools to improve your process management operating systems

    Uses cases and process models are two of the most powerful and important tools in business analysis. A use case describes in text the requirements a stakeholder group has for a system and how the system will behave to meet those needs. A process model visually describes the actions, objects, and relationships acted upon in the system. Together, these two tools—words and pictures—provide a foundation for teams to communicate and build easy-to-use, high-performing systems more efficiently than teams who don’t use these tools.

    With the powerful knowledge gained during this course, you will be able to:

    • Develop process diagrams in helping stakeholders understand operational flows
    • Use essential features of BPMN to draw process diagrams
    • Utilize BPMN to understand a business process needing improvement
    • Help stakeholders develop use cases in defining operational behavior
    • Utilize use cases in developing shared understanding among functional stakeholders and technologists
    • Leverage use case content to provide value in solution design
    • Develop user stories that help stakeholders describe functional needs
    • Understand the context in which user stories work well
    • Understand how user stories encourage conversation about detailed requirements, and elicit acceptance criteria for the solution

    Who should attend?

    This course is helpful for both individuals and teams. Teams benefit from practicing together with the tools and techniques.

    • Software developers
    • New product developers/managers
    • Process improvement individuals
    • Project managers

    Agenda

    Day 1: Process Modeling

    • Process modeling and BPMN
      • History of BPMN
      • Where BPMN is not a good fit for modeling
      • Comparing UML and BPMN diagrams
    • Parts of the process model
      • Activities—tasks and sub-processes
      • Flow types
      • Swim lanes—pools and lanes
      • Gateways: exclusive, inclusive, parallel, complex
      • Gateway usage: bad, better, best
      • Events and artifacts
      • Representative BPMN symbols
      • Business case: scoping diagram

    Day 2: Use Cases

    • What is a use case and why should you write one
      • The importance of stories
      • Use case types: usage narrative, summary, and detail
      • Categories of requirements and use cases
      • How use cases help stakeholders, analysts, developers, and testers
    • The use case process
      • Solution process scope
      • Use case titles
      • Identify actor and actor's goals
      • Develop main process steps
      • Develop alternate and exception process steps
      • Scope and stakeholder interests
      • Triggers, assumptions, and conditions
      • What is a business rule?
      • Project artifacts developed from use cases
    • Common pitfalls with use case development
    • Leveraging use cases
      • Logical database design
      • User interface design

    Day 3: User Stories

    • What is wrong with written requirements?
    • User stories as a contract
    • Who is the product owner?
    • What does a user story look like?
    • A communication problem
    • Why write user stories?
    • Quality attributes of a user story
    • User stories in a software development project
    • What happens in a story-writing workshop?
    • What is done with these user stories?

    Joe Goss is a senior business analyst and project manager at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Information Technology (DoIT). He reduces project costs for customers and improves project outcomes by facilitating stakeholder engagement in eliciting, validating, and documenting requirements. He serves as a trusted advisor to customers and peers in business analysis, solution design, and process improvement. Joe has many years of experience as a group facilitator, teacher, mentor, leader, and valued advisor.