Use Case

Definition. A Use Case describes how a user uses a system to accomplish a particular goal.
Related terms User Story, User Scenario, and Usage Scenario are contrasted and compared.

A use case is a written description of how users will perform tasks on your website. It outlines, from a user’s point of view, a system’s behavior as it responds to a request. Each use case is represented as a sequence of simple steps, beginning with a user's goal and ending when that goal is fulfilled.

– https://www.usability.gov/how-to-and-tools/methods/use-cases.html www.usability.gov

Common Consensus

Some authors consider user stories, User Scenarios / Usage scenarios and use cases as roughly equivalent.
“Use case” seems to be the generic term that is often used to describe them all.
Most only use the two level distinction between user/usage scenarios and use cases.

… the use case idea has become so widespread that the term “use case” has become a normal English expression used to understand the usages of virtually anything.

A use case is a written description of how users will perform tasks on your website. It outlines, from a user’s point of view, a system’s behavior as it responds to a request. Each use case is represented as a sequence of simple steps, beginning with a user's goal and ending when that goal is fulfilled.

– https://www.usability.gov/how-to-and-tools/methods/use-cases.html www.usability.gov

Usage Scenario vs. Use Cases Contrasted

Usage scenarios and use cases both aim to describe how users interact with a system.

• Usage scenarios are more focused on the user's journey and experiences, serving as a tool for designers and stakeholders to understand and empathize with the user.

• Use cases delve deeper into the technical aspects, detailing the system's responses and interactions, which are essential for developers and analysts to implement and test the system effectively.

A use case scenario describes how a user might interact with a system to achieve a goal. It’s typically used in software development as part of the functional requirements document/plan, but use case scenarios aren’t just for developers.
… Like a user story, a use case describes how a user will interact with a system to achieve a goal but on a slightly more granular level. It’s typically written as a sequence of steps, each representing a different action the user takes.

– https://nulab.com/learn/design-and-ux/how-to-create-a-use-case-scenario-to-improve-products/

While both usage scenarios and use cases aim to describe how users interact with a system, usage scenarios are more focused on the user's journey and experiences, serving as a tool for designers and stakeholders to understand and empathize with the user. On the other hand, use cases delve deeper into the technical aspects, detailing the system's responses and interactions, which are essential for developers and analysts to implement and test the system effectively.

NOTES

The use case practice is a requirements analysis technique that has been widely used in modern software engineering since its introduction by Ivar Jacobson in 1987 [Jacobson 1987]. … Since its introduction, the use case practice has been widely adopted in basically all industries and inspired the user story practice we presented in the previous chapter. In fact, the use case idea has become so widespread that the term “use case” has become a normal English expression used to understand the usages of virtually anything.
– from The Essentials of Modern Software Engineering, 2019

1. A use case in software is a description of a specific interaction between a user and the software system. It outlines the steps that a user takes to accomplish a specific task or goal using the software. Use cases help software developers to understand how users will interact with the software and how the system should respond to user actions.

2. A use case is a concept used in software development, product design, and other fields to describe how a system can be used to achieve specific goals or tasks. It outlines the interactions between users or actors and the system to achieve a specific outcome.

Each use case typically includes

• a goal or objective,

• a list of preconditions that must be met before the use case can be executed,

• a list of steps that the user takes to accomplish the goal,

• and a list of post-conditions that describe the expected results of the use case.

Use cases may also include alternative scenarios or error conditions that can occur during the use case execution.

Use cases are an important part of the software development process, as they provide a clear understanding of the software's functionality and how it should be designed and developed to meet user needs. They are often used in agile software development methodologies to guide iterative development and ensure that the software meets user requirements.

Allistair Cockburn: Writing Effective Use Cases

“Use Case” Pages Online

• https://medium.com/@smartgamma/user-scenarios-user-stories-use-cases-what-s-the-difference-75bf75d4bb60

  • “Use cases are structured documents that contain requirements and details of what functionality should exist. Use cases are (usually) extremely entailed and detail both user behavior and system response. They are less about user needs and mental models and more prescriptive direction as to what needs to be developed.”

A use case is a written description of how users will perform tasks on your website. It outlines, from a user’s point of view, a system’s behavior as it responds to a request. Each use case is represented as a sequence of simple steps, beginning with a user's goal and ending when that goal is fulfilled.

– https://www.usability.gov/how-to-and-tools/methods/use-cases.html

• https://testfort.com/blog/what-is-a-use-case-in-software-testing

• https://ux.stackexchange.com/questions/24717/do-you-use-scenarios-and-use-cases-as-one-or-separate

• Writing Effective Use Cases by Alistair Cockburn.

  • https://www.academia.edu/32227372/Alistair_Cockburn_Writing_Effective_Use_Cases?auto=download – academia.edu, pre-publication draft # 3, 2000

  • https://www-public.imtbs-tsp.eu/~gibson/Teaching/Teaching-ReadingMaterial/Cockburn00.pdf – 1999 draft of Writing Effective Use Cases by Alistair Cockburn.

  • https://www.cs.cmu.edu/~jhm/Readings/Cockburn Ch 1 Scan.pdf - scan of chapter 1, 2001