On well-formedness rules for UML use case diagram

Abstract

A software model is a widely used technique to specify software. A UML model may contain different diagrams and a diagram is built from different elements. Each element is restraint to certain constraint or well-formedness rules (WFR). Assurance to these WFR is important to ensure the quality of UML diagrams produced. Even though, the formal definition to UML elements is rapidly increased; there is still lack of formalization of WFR. Therefore, this paper will define the WFR for use case diagrams as it is ranked as one of the most used diagram among UML practitioners. The formalization is based on set theory by logic and quantification. Based on an example of a use case diagram, we show how the diagram satisfied the WFR. Then, the elements involved in the well-formedness problem are detected and formally reasoned. © 2010 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.