3510 Systems Analysis and Design * Travica * Exercises
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5. (modified)
When customers want to add a new car to their insurance policy, they call an
insurance clerk at Best Insurance Company.
The customer cites his/her policy number. The clerk enters this information, and
the system displays the basic insurance policy. The clerk checks the information
to make sure the premiums are current and the policy is in force.
The customer gives the make, model, year, and vehicle identification number
(VIN) of the car to be added. The clerk enters this information, and the system
validates that the given data is valid. Next the customer selects the types of
coverage desired and the amount of each. The clerk enters the information, and
the system records it and validates the requested amount against the policy limits.
After all of the coverages have been entered, the system validates the total
coverage against all other ranges, including other cars on the policy. If a new
driver is to be added, then another use case Add new driver is invoked.
At the end of the process, the system updates the policy, calculates a new
premium amount, and prints out the updated policy statement to be mailed to the
policy owner.
a)
Write a brief use case description.
Use Case:
Brief Description:
Add a new car to insurance vehicle policy
Customer provides information on car to be added, selects coverage, and
the system updates the policy.
b) Create Use case diagram of Car Insurance System
Car Insurance System
Add new car to insurance
vehicle policy
Insurance
Clerk
<<extends>>
Add new driver
Use Case Diagram of Car Insurance System (part)
Explanation:
The “subsystem” Add a new car to an insurance vehicle policy represents a function
within the Car Insurance System. Therefore, this whole function is a use case. The steps
discussed in the exercise statement are the steps that describe (analyze, break down) the
use case, that is, the business process of adding a vehicle to an existing insurance policy.
There are other use cases in the Car Insurance System (e.g., Create insurance policy) and
one is directly cited (Add new driver, as the extend-case to Add a new car to an
insurance vehicle policy).
The goal of the exercise is to

Punctuate the concept of use case—use case is a system’s main function related to
some business event and/or user goal; and

Think of differentiating between the whole (use caser) and the parts (steps in a use
case).
Tips for thinking about use case diagrams:
1. Ovals representing use case stand for main system functions. So, when you get a
description that looks too detailed, try to figure if the actions cited are in fact steps of a
larger function (that is, a use case).
2. Steps of a particular function flow in a sequence that covers a continuous timeline. If
there is an apparent lag (say, a day or more) between a step and a step preceding it, then
there may be more than one use case, So, the time delayed step may be par of another use
case. For example, a delayed payment is a separate use case as opposed to payment hat is
performed at the end of sequence of steps including product search and product selection.
3. To test the idea that a description refers to a single use case rather than a set of use
cases, think of what could be other use cases (functions) of a larger system that contains
use case. Name that larger system.
In this case, described are the steps of a function for adding a new vehicle to an existing
insurance policy, and the larger system has other functions (Create insurance policy, Add
new driver) and can be called Car insurance system.
c) Create Full Description of use case Add a new car to an insurance vehicle policy
Use Case Name:
Scenario:
Event (Trigger):
Brief Description:
Actors:
Flow of Events
(Steps):
Add a new car to an insurance vehicle policy
Telephone-based, involving customer and clerk
Customer demands a new vehicle to be added to existing insurance policy
Customer provides information on car to be added, selects coverage, and
identifies drivers of the new car. System updates the policy.
Customer service clerk
Actor
System
1. Clerk enters policy number
1.1 System finds policy and
displays details
2. Clerk verifies policy is current
3. Clerk enters car identification
information
3.1 System validates that car has
known standard
4. Clerk enters each type of coverage
customer requests, including
deductibles and coverage amount
4.1 System validates coverage
requests and adds to policy
4.2 System validates combination
coverages
5. Clerk indicates end of seesion
5.1 System updates policy,
calculates new premium, and
prints new statement
4.1 If the customer requests a new driver to be added, the clerk initiates a
use case Add new driver.
a) Create an activity for the use case Add a new car to an insurance vehicle policy
Customer
Clerk
System
H
Provide Policy #
Enter Policy #
Find policy/
display details
Verify status
Provide car details
Enter car information
Validate car information
against standards
for each coverage type
Include coverage type/
select amount
Enter coverage
information
Validate against standards/
add to policy
end for each
Validate combination
coverages
New driver?
yes
Invoke Add new
driver use case
End session
Update policy/
calculater premium/
print statement
H