Actor
Last updated
Last updated
An Actor in a Use Case Diagram represents an external entity that interacts with the system. It can be a person, an organization, or another system that has a role in interacting with the system being modeled.
With Actors in Modeldraw's Use Case Diagram, you can:
Identify and represent the different users or external systems that interact with your system
Clarify the boundaries of your system by showing what's external to it
Illustrate the various roles that interact with your system's functionalities
Create a foundation for defining the system's use cases and their associations
Demonstrate the scope of your system from an external perspective
An Actor in Modeldraw's Use Case Diagram tool is typically represented by a stick figure. Actors are essential components of Use Case Diagrams as they initiate use cases and interact with the system. Key points to understand about Actors include:
An Actor represents a role rather than a specific individual or system. For example, "Customer" could be an Actor, representing anyone who uses the system as a customer.
Actors are always external to the system being modeled. They represent the users or systems that interact with your system.
A single Actor can be associated with multiple Use Cases, indicating that they can perform various actions within the system.
Actors can have parent-child relationships, where one Actor is a more specialized version of another.
Not all Actors are human users. They can also represent other systems, organizations, or even time (e.g., a scheduler).
Remember that Actors should represent distinct roles that interact with your system. When naming Actors, choose clear and descriptive names that reflect their roles in relation to the system.
