Analysis Modeling Workshop (UML)

Workshop Approach

Analysis Modeling Workshop

A practice-focused session where participants build UML analysis models on realistic exercises, learning by doing with feedback.

Learning by Doing

Skill in modeling comes from repeated practice and review, which this workshop emphasizes over lecture.

Collaborative Modeling

Building models together at a board or tool so understanding is shared and diverse perspectives improve the result.

Foundations

Object-Oriented Analysis

Modeling the problem domain as collaborating objects with responsibilities and relationships before design.

Analysis Model

A technology-independent model capturing the key concepts, responsibilities, and relationships of the domain.

UML

The standard visual notation used to express analysis models clearly and consistently.

Deriving Classes

From Use Cases to Classes

Reading use cases to identify the objects, responsibilities, and interactions needed to fulfill them.

Noun-Verb Analysis

Extracting candidate classes and attributes from nouns and operations and relationships from verbs in requirements.

CRC Cards

Class-Responsibility-Collaborator cards for quickly exploring classes and their collaborations in the workshop.

Boundary, Control, Entity

Analysis stereotypes that help partition responsibilities among interface, coordination, and data objects.

Assigning Responsibilities

Deciding what each class should know and do, aiming for cohesion and low coupling.

Diagrams

Class Diagram

Captures the structure of the analysis model — classes, attributes, operations, and relationships.

Association and Multiplicity

Links between classes and how many instances participate, expressing domain relationships.

Generalization

Inheritance relationships that capture shared structure and behavior among classes.

Sequence Diagram

Shows objects collaborating over time to realize a use case's behavior.

Communication Diagram

Shows object interactions emphasizing their relationships as messages pass.

State Machine Diagram

Models the lifecycle states and transitions of objects with significant behavior.

Refining

Model Review

Critiquing an analysis model for completeness, clarity, cohesion, and faithful domain representation.

Refactoring the Model

Improving structure — reassigning responsibilities, adjusting relationships — without changing intended meaning.

Common Mistakes

Overly large classes, poor responsibility assignment, missing relationships, and premature design detail.

Just Enough Detail

Modeling enough to understand and communicate without over-specifying, keeping the model useful.

Applying It

From Analysis to Design

Using the analysis model as the foundation that design later refines with technology decisions.

Traceability to Use Cases

Ensuring the analysis model demonstrably supports the required use-case behavior.

Team Modeling Skills

Building shared modeling technique and vocabulary so teams collaborate effectively on models.