Business Workflow Modeling using Activity Diagram
An Example: Capturing Requirements by using Business Workflow Modeling
Problem Statement
ABC Software Helpdesk received customers’ query related to the software products they supported. If the helpdesk staff can resolve the queries, they do so and give the customer a solution; otherwise they identify a problem and refer this to Second-line Support. Second-line Support reproduces and investigates the problem. If it can be solved by advice, they refer it back to Helpdesk staff; if there is a software defect which required a change to the software, they raise a software change request to the Software Development Team. If the software is coded and tested, the hot fix will be release and hand over to Second-line Support to follow the outstanding case. Second-line Staff will issue the fix to the knowledge for the Helpdesk staff to inform the customers. The Customer will then receive the hot fix software for installation.
Develop a Swimlane Activity Diagram to Model the above Workflow:
1. Create an Activity Diagram
Figure 1 – Create an activity Diagram
2. Then drag the swim-lane located at the toolbar of activity diagram
Figure 2 – Horizontal Swimlane icon from toolbar of activity
3. Change the name of the partition when needed by double click on the name of each partition
Figure 3 – Change name for each partition
4. To insert more partition for swim-lane, right click the swim-lane, and then choose “Insert horizontal Partition” from the popup menu.
Figure 4 – Insert partition for Swimlane
5. Then completed swim-lane for this scenario should like figure 5.
Figure 5 – Completed Swimlane object
6. After the swimlane has been created, we should now create Actions for it. Create Action object can drag it out from the toolbar of activity diagram
Figure 6 – Actions
7. Then change the name of the action as needed
Figure 7 – Change name for Action object
8. And then create other related action by using the resource centric. Resource centric will appear on the Action object create previous when mouse over.
Figure 8 – Create other related object by resource centric
9. Then a Object (such as Action) will be create after click and drag from the resource centric. Then repeat the above steps to complete the business workflow model.
Figure 9 – Change name for the newly create Action by resource centric
10. Here is the Complete Business Workflow Model
