Practice Area

Business Analysis

Solution Requirements — Use Cases and User Stories


  • Traditional Classroom: 1-day
  • Virtual Instructor-led: Two 3-3.5 hour sessions; Three 2-hour sessions

The IIBA® defines use cases as the means to describe the interactions between the primary actor, the solution, and any secondary actors needed to achieve the primary actor‘s goal. A use case describes the possible outcomes of an attempt to accomplish a particular goal that the solution will support. It details different paths that can be followed by defining primary and alternative flows. The primary or basic flow represents the most direct way to accomplish the goal of the use case. Special circumstances and exceptions that result in a failure to complete the goal of the use case are documented in alternative or exception flows. Use cases have become the de facto standard for understanding the needs of the user in collaboration with the future solution.

The format of the workshop will be interactive and collaborative with practical application of concepts and techniques during class discussions/exercises. It will serve to provide hands-on practical experience of how to identify use cases and actors, develop a use case inventory/use case diagram, model the use case behavior via an activity diagram, and write a detailed use case description. The use case components serve as a strong foundation from which to elicit detailed solution requirements.


Target Audience

Individuals who will benefit from this workshop include business analysts and project managers.

Learning Objectives

  • Become proficient in understanding and using use case conventions on requirements projects, including how to:
    • Identify actors
    • Identify use cases
    • Develop a use case inventory/use case model
    • Build a system context diagram
    • Model the use case behavior via an activity diagram
    • Write detailed use case descriptions
  • Become proficient in understanding and using user story conventions.
  • Understand the difference between use cases and user stories.
  • Build a decision tree to represent a set of business rules.
  • Elicit requirements and business rules within the context of the use cases and user stories.

Key Takeaways

  • The components that make up a use case bundle
  • Identifying use cases and actors
  • Building a use case diagram
  • Writing a use case narrative
  • How the use case narrative can be used to identify contextual solution requirements
  • Other techniques that can be used to support the comprehensive description and understanding of the use case

Course Outline

Module 1: Introduction to Use Cases and User Stories
  • Life Cycle Differences and the BA
  • Requirements Analysis and Design Definition
Module 2: Identify Use Cases and Actors
  • What Is a Use Case?
  • Requirements Types
  • Exercise: Identify Actors and Use Cases
  • System Context Diagram and Notation
  • Exercise: Document the Solution Scope — Build a System Context Diagram
Module 3: Document Use Case Inventory/Use Case Diagram
  • Use Case Inventory with Short Description
  • Use Case Artifacts
  • Use Case Diagrams
  • Exercise: Build a Use Case Diagram
Module 4: Model Use Case Behavior — Activity Diagram
  • Activity Diagram Relationship to the Use Case
  • UML Notation
  • Alternate and Exception Flows
  • Exercise: Build an Activity Diagram
Module 5: Write a Use Case Description
  • What Is a Use Case Description
  • Exercise: Write a Use Case Description
Module 6: Supplement Use Cases with Other BA Tools and Techniques
  • User Interface Mockup
  • Data Model
  • Data Dictionary
  • Decision Tree
  • Decision Matrix
Module 7: Write a User Story
  • Personas
  • Definition of User Story
  • User Story Acceptance Criteria
  • Exercise: Write a User Story
Module 8: Introduction to Detailed Solution Requirements and Business Rules
  • Requirements Life Cycles
  • Writing Effective Requirements
  • Exercise: Elicit Requirements for Use Cases
  • Business Rules

BAI304-5C Course Code


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