OpenUP/OpenUP_baseline_EN/exported_HTML_1_0/openup/guidances/concepts/actor.html - epf/org.eclipse.epf.nl-libraries - Git at Google

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 <title>openup&amp;#92;guidances&amp;#92;concepts&amp;#92;&amp;#92;actor.xmi</title>
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 <body>
 Element Name: actor.xmi<br/><br/>
 <!-- END NON-TRANSLATABLE -->
 <br/><br/><br/>
 <!-- START NON-TRANSLATABLE -->
 Attribute: presentationName<br/><br/>
 <!-- END NON-TRANSLATABLE -->
 <!-- START:presentationName,_zGqO0MDpEduTGJ8i4u8TMw CRC: 2243197437 -->Actor<!-- END:presentationName,_zGqO0MDpEduTGJ8i4u8TMw -->
 <br/><br/><br/>
 <!-- START NON-TRANSLATABLE -->
 Attribute: briefDescription<br/><br/>
 <!-- END NON-TRANSLATABLE -->
 <!-- START:briefDescription,_zGqO0MDpEduTGJ8i4u8TMw CRC: 91976382 -->An Actor is a role that a person or external system plays when interacting with a system. Instances of an Actor can be an individual or an external system.<!-- END:briefDescription,_zGqO0MDpEduTGJ8i4u8TMw -->
 <br/><br/><br/>
 <!-- START NON-TRANSLATABLE -->
 Attribute: mainDescription<br/><br/>
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 <!-- START:mainDescription,-aN0zy068ovKHgmkkoYqoYQ CRC: 1824143698 --><h3>
     Explanation
 </h3>
 <p>
     To fully understand the system's purpose, you must know who the system is for, that is: Who will use the system? The
     answer to this question is: the Actors.
 </p>
 <p>
     An Actor is a role that a person or external system plays&nbsp;when interacting with the system.&nbsp; Instances of an
     Actor can be an individual or an external system, however each Actor&nbsp;provides a
     unique&nbsp;and&nbsp;important&nbsp;perspective on the system that is shared by every instance of the Actor.
 </p>
 <p>
     This difference between an actor and an instance of an actor is illustrated below.&nbsp;&nbsp;Figure 1 shows a case in
     which Ivar and Mark are operators of a recycling machine. When they are using the machine in this capacity, each is
     represented by an instance of the actor called Operator that expects certain functionality of the system (Print Daily
     Reports in this example).
 </p>
 <p>
     <img height="322" alt="" src="./resources/md_acto2.gif" width="396" />&nbsp;
 </p>
 <blockquote dir="ltr" style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
     <p>
         <strong>Figure 1:&nbsp;Example Actor with multiple instances</strong>&nbsp;
     </p>
 </blockquote>
 <p>
     Conversely, the same user can act as several actors (that is, the same person can take on different roles). In Figure
     2, Charlie uses the Depot-Handling System primarily as Depot Manager, but sometimes he also uses the Depot-Handling
     System as an ordinary Depot Staff member. Each of these actors expects different functionality of the system.
 </p>
 <p>
     <img height="139" alt="" src="./resources/md_acto3.gif" width="367" />
 </p>
 <blockquote dir="ltr" style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
     <p>
         <strong>Figure 2: Example of user playing different roles</strong><br />
     </p>
 </blockquote>
 <p>
     Actors help you to identify external interfaces and to determine the scope the system (what is in the system, vs. what
     is outside the system boundary).&nbsp; Each&nbsp;Actor has associated use cases which describe what that
     particular&nbsp;actor expects of the system.&nbsp; It will be very difficult, if not impossible,&nbsp;to assess the
     completeness of the set of Use Cases without the context provided by the associated Actors. Furthermore, missing an
     actor may result in&nbsp;missing important stakeholder perspectives, resulting&nbsp;in a solution that does not meet
     all&nbsp;stakeholder needs.
 </p>
 <p>
     Hence, identifying the Actors for the system&nbsp;should be done early in the lifecycle.&nbsp;&nbsp;Actors are
     captured, including their names, brief descriptions, and relationships to use cases,&nbsp;in the <a class="elementLinkWithType" href="./../../../openup/workproducts/use_case_model_85965D1B.html" guid="_W2SgEDR5EdutE_HNDTJk5Q">Artifact: Use-Case Model</a>.
 </p>
 <h3>
     Properties of Actors
 </h3>
 <h4>
     Name
 </h4>
 <p>
     Each actor should have a name that clearly describes the role played by the user.
 </p>
 <h4>
     Brief Description
 </h4>
 <p>
     Each actor should have a brief description that clearly describes:
 </p>
 <ul>
     <li>
         What or who the actor represents.
     </li>
     <li>
         Why the actor is needed.
     </li>
     <li>
         What interests the actor has in the system
     </li>
     <li>
         Major characteristics of the actor.
     </li>
 </ul>
 <p>
     The major characteristics of the actor&nbsp;are important as they may influence how the system is developed, for
     example characteristics of the user interface such as accessibility or globalization.&nbsp; Examples of important
     characteristics include:
 </p>
 <ul>
     <li>
         The actors level of domain knowledge
     </li>
     <li>
         The actors level of computer experience
     </li>
     <li>
         The actors abilities and disabilities
     </li>
     <li>
         The actors native language
     </li>
 </ul><!-- END:mainDescription,-aN0zy068ovKHgmkkoYqoYQ -->
 </body>
 </html>
	<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
	<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C/DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" "DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd">
	<!-- VERSION rmc:7.1.0 -->
	<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
	<head>
	<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"/>
	<!-- START NON-TRANSLATABLE -->
	<title>openup&#92;guidances&#92;concepts&#92;&#92;actor.xmi</title>
	</head>
	<!-- WARNING: do not modify the generated comments in this file below this line. They are used as markers for the import process. -->
	<body>
	Element Name: actor.xmi<br/><br/>
	<!-- END NON-TRANSLATABLE -->
	<br/><br/><br/>
	<!-- START NON-TRANSLATABLE -->
	Attribute: presentationName<br/><br/>
	<!-- END NON-TRANSLATABLE -->
	<!-- START:presentationName,_zGqO0MDpEduTGJ8i4u8TMw CRC: 2243197437 -->Actor<!-- END:presentationName,_zGqO0MDpEduTGJ8i4u8TMw -->
	<br/><br/><br/>
	<!-- START NON-TRANSLATABLE -->
	Attribute: briefDescription<br/><br/>
	<!-- END NON-TRANSLATABLE -->
	<!-- START:briefDescription,_zGqO0MDpEduTGJ8i4u8TMw CRC: 91976382 -->An Actor is a role that a person or external system plays when interacting with a system. Instances of an Actor can be an individual or an external system.<!-- END:briefDescription,_zGqO0MDpEduTGJ8i4u8TMw -->
	<br/><br/><br/>
	<!-- START NON-TRANSLATABLE -->
	Attribute: mainDescription<br/><br/>
	<!-- END NON-TRANSLATABLE -->
	<!-- START:mainDescription,-aN0zy068ovKHgmkkoYqoYQ CRC: 1824143698 --><h3>
	Explanation
	</h3>
	<p>
	To fully understand the system's purpose, you must know who the system is for, that is: Who will use the system? The
	answer to this question is: the Actors.
	</p>
	<p>
	An Actor is a role that a person or external system plays when interacting with the system.  Instances of an
	Actor can be an individual or an external system, however each Actor provides a
	unique and important perspective on the system that is shared by every instance of the Actor.
	</p>
	<p>
	This difference between an actor and an instance of an actor is illustrated below.  Figure 1 shows a case in
	which Ivar and Mark are operators of a recycling machine. When they are using the machine in this capacity, each is
	represented by an instance of the actor called Operator that expects certain functionality of the system (Print Daily
	Reports in this example).
	</p>
	<p>
	<img height="322" alt="" src="./resources/md_acto2.gif" width="396" />
	</p>
	<blockquote dir="ltr" style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
	<p>
	<strong>Figure 1: Example Actor with multiple instances</strong>
	</p>
	</blockquote>
	<p>
	Conversely, the same user can act as several actors (that is, the same person can take on different roles). In Figure
	2, Charlie uses the Depot-Handling System primarily as Depot Manager, but sometimes he also uses the Depot-Handling
	System as an ordinary Depot Staff member. Each of these actors expects different functionality of the system.
	</p>
	<p>
	<img height="139" alt="" src="./resources/md_acto3.gif" width="367" />
	</p>
	<blockquote dir="ltr" style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
	<p>
	<strong>Figure 2: Example of user playing different roles</strong><br />
	</p>
	</blockquote>
	<p>
	Actors help you to identify external interfaces and to determine the scope the system (what is in the system, vs. what
	is outside the system boundary).  Each Actor has associated use cases which describe what that
	particular actor expects of the system.  It will be very difficult, if not impossible, to assess the
	completeness of the set of Use Cases without the context provided by the associated Actors. Furthermore, missing an
	actor may result in missing important stakeholder perspectives, resulting in a solution that does not meet
	all stakeholder needs.
	</p>
	<p>
	Hence, identifying the Actors for the system should be done early in the lifecycle.  Actors are
	captured, including their names, brief descriptions, and relationships to use cases, in the <a class="elementLinkWithType" href="./../../../openup/workproducts/use_case_model_85965D1B.html" guid="_W2SgEDR5EdutE_HNDTJk5Q">Artifact: Use-Case Model</a>.
	</p>
	<h3>
	Properties of Actors
	</h3>
	<h4>
	Name
	</h4>
	<p>
	Each actor should have a name that clearly describes the role played by the user.
	</p>
	<h4>
	Brief Description
	</h4>
	<p>
	Each actor should have a brief description that clearly describes:
	</p>
	<ul>
	<li>
	What or who the actor represents.
	</li>
	<li>
	Why the actor is needed.
	</li>
	<li>
	What interests the actor has in the system
	</li>
	<li>
	Major characteristics of the actor.
	</li>
	</ul>
	<p>
	The major characteristics of the actor are important as they may influence how the system is developed, for
	example characteristics of the user interface such as accessibility or globalization.  Examples of important
	characteristics include:
	</p>
	<ul>
	<li>
	The actors level of domain knowledge
	</li>
	<li>
	The actors level of computer experience
	</li>
	<li>
	The actors abilities and disabilities
	</li>
	<li>
	The actors native language
	</li>
	</ul><!-- END:mainDescription,-aN0zy068ovKHgmkkoYqoYQ -->
	</body>
	</html>