Concrete envidences are usually obvious when we consider usage or functions of any appliances we use for executions of necessary tasks or processes. Today, system becomes more and more densified. Increasingly, we will be seeing compact imclusion and additional functions in any manufactured system or services because all companies need differentiator. What ia a differentiator?
Differentiator can be simply defined as any value being added to product or services with the sole aim of remaining active and maintaining competitive advantages in the marketplace. Every lively and economically active business processes have expected to be dynamic, innovative and quick to customer or consumer wants.
To assign value to anything, it must be given an abstraction or naming or identifer. Whenever you blame anything for not performing as required, believe your lens of judgement sees through their functional requirement. I am supposing you have some prior understanding of how that entity should meet its stated functions or reaponsibilty. So, we usually judge things by what we conceive about their existence and objectives of being existing.
Today, everything we use name it anything, vehicle, clothing, shoes, building, coffee toaster, food processor, smart phone, electricity, excetera. By virtual of that supposition, I begin to state categorically that uses and functionalities form the basis of creation of our needs. Functional descriptions for system come before any man-made manufacturing. Who often do you think about those things you buy and use for comfort?
I will not ask for essentiality and needs for buying those things. It is for another day topic.
So, we will become accustomed to these systems we forget about improvement we can morph these system into. I think smart phones are changing the naration for people that are keen and observe sole needs for these system.
You have many things in your home from electrical devices to electric devices, mechantronics, some cybersystem and other advanced system. Do you make use of google voice assistant for updates? Yes it is part of functionalities. How often do you think about the entire functionlities of your electric razor? Maybe its function is to cut nails,right? Yes you are right some products are very specific and can not be utilised for more than intended purposes.
So let us get back to the cause of today discussion.
My assumptions and claims are that we needs still as it has scientifically proven that we are insatiable though some or few people settle for less. I believe the reader is never one of them. Needing things bring us afore to functional requirements, do you doubt this, USE CASES is the underpinning concept to our advancement because it enlongates our mental capability and make us improving. USE CASES are simple in definition. They are what you perform with any system holistically without how they carried out but what are carried. Say you want to fly in the air, what system will do that, I trust you immediately you say 'Aircraft'. Exactly, you are right. Someone might be vary narrow and say aeroplane or helicopter, and if you were before Wright Brothers you will say Glider. What if you were before Leonardo Da Vinci, may be you just go with wants or intend to fly without that machine? To understand another point I am driving at, it takes human less than a century to bring to life bizzare machinery to ensure flying machine. What made it so long? It was because then things when not simplified through simple notions and definition. It is different now. We have USE CASES. You can achieve your want just as Leo(Da Vinci) wanted a flying machine. I introduced us to modelling but through building construction. It now depends on you readers may be we should embark on philosophy of modelling. Modelling are categorised into three parts. Just as the logical construct in Boolean Algebra are six units. Next time, we will extensively entertain ourselves with Modelling.
I will not leaving you without giving a tour of something useful. I mean things you can you in various places, kitchen, workshop, designing and thinking about system.
Now, let us assume we are Tabula Rasa. Tabula Rasa means we do not know any thing about what we are about to invent but we have any wants. To prevent ambiquity and trap of expression through natural lamguages. We say we are about to do something we think of having, no aprior information. Say a machine that assist to solve problems.
What should this machine do? We will get stuck until we are able state the problems we are about to solve. There is any tool for us to reason out about the problem. This is called User Stories. If your story can be told, we can implement it through USE CASES and diligently traverse through it to Flowchart an ingeneous tool for task execution. Our next topic will be Flowchart. They are two things, having similar structure as Flowchart, they are recipe and algorithm. Those who usually follow our articles tasted mango juice through its recipe. You can give us boost to make a tailored research in Algorithm for your different processes. Till then never stop assisting us to bring in more rich and educative tools that have transformed our world.
To learn more about Use of Cases for Systems
https://www.mitre.org/publications/systems-engineering-guide/se-lifecycle-building-blocks/other-se-lifecycle-building-blocks-articles/spanning-the-operational-space8212how-to-select-use-cases-and-mission-threads#:~:text=Definition%3A%20Use%20case%20in%20software,with%20the%20system%20in%20question
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/3363770_Introduction_to_systems_engineering_with_use_cases
https://www.scenarioplus.org.uk/papers/use_cases/use_cases.htm
https://www.visual-paradigm.com/guide/uml-unified-modeling-language/what-is-use-case-diagram/