What is a Use Case?

A “use case” is a specific task or action a PLM system needs to be able to perform. It serves as a tool for identifying, clarifying, and organizing system requirements. A use case:

1. Describes an Interaction: It outlines how users (or “actors”) interact with a system to achieve a specific goal. This interaction is a sequence of steps, often depicted in a flowchart or written as a narrative.

2. Focuses on User Goals: It emphasizes what the user (or other system) wants to achieve, not how the system processes the request internally.

3. Includes Scenarios: It typically comprises the main (or “happy path”) scenario where everything goes as expected, as well as alternate and exception scenarios that describe what happens when something goes wrong or differently from the main flow.

4. Helps in System Design: Use cases are instrumental in understanding the functional requirements of a system, helping designers and developers to see the system from the user’s perspective.

5. Facilitates Communication: They serve as a common language for stakeholders, including clients, managers, designers, and developers, to ensure everyone has a clear understanding of the system’s objectives and capabilities.

6. Can Be Visualized: Use cases are often represented visually in use case diagrams, a component of Unified Modeling Language (UML), which shows the actors involved and the interactions with the system.

In essence, a use case is a practical tool to help ensure that a system or application is designed with the user’s needs and experiences in mind and ultimately is able to perform the tasks and actions the different users or actors need to perform in the PLM system as part of their daily jobs.