A Comprehensive Aspect-Oriented Use Case Method for Modeling Complex Business Requirements

Abstract

Abstract. The aspect-oriented approach separates cross-cutting concerns and models them as aspects. In this paper, we present a comprehensive aspectoriented use case approach for modeling complex business requirements. We identify four categories of aspects: high level non-functional requirements, extending or optional requirements, included or subordinate requirements, and business rules. Our aspect-oriented use-case model comprises three different templates: base use cases, aspectual use cases, and nonfunctional aspects. The proposed method offers a systematic approach for identifying different potential aspects from complex business requirements. Moreover, our method provides a comprehensive model for documenting identified aspects and their composition to the core functionalities at an early stage of software development. The contributions of our paper include identifying and utilizing the four types of aspects and proposing the templates to document them.

Concern-Oriented Use Cases.

“…However, they do not elaborate a use case composition algorithm that explains how (aspect) models can be combined to generate a composed use case scenario description. Furthermore, because they require the specification of pointcuts in the base use case, they can not support unplanned reuse in cases B and D. Lu & Song (2008) propose a new aspect use case template to describe non-functional use cases, while also defining join points in use cases where aspect use cases can add additional content. Because of the distinction between standard use cases and aspect use cases, the approach is asymmetric, which adds significant accidental complexity and prevents hierarchical reuse.…”

“…While there have been efforts to modularise recurring behaviour descriptions that cross-cut several use cases in the aspect-oriented modelling community (Lu & Song 2008;Yue & Ali 2012), none of them support the many reuse scenarios found in modern software development, such as, hierarchical reuse, genericity, unplanned extension of use cases, and featureoriented reuse as found in SPL. Furthermore, only very few of the existing aspect-oriented use case approaches have been described to the level of detail that is needed to implement a functioning use case model composition algorithm in practice.…”