COMP433 · Chapter 4 · building an activity diagram

Unpacking a use case into an activity diagram

A use case diagram says what the system does; an activity diagram shows how one use case flows, in what order, with which decisions, and who does each step. Here we take the Book room use case and unpack its description (beside the diagram) into a flow; as each action is drawn, the description line it comes from lights up. Press Full screen to see both at full size.

Book room · use case description

ActorsGuest, Payment Provider Preat least one room is available 1Guest selects a room 2Guest enters a promo code (optional) 3Guest enters details and card 4System requests authorisation from the provider 5On approval, the room is reserved 6Booking is confirmed Altif declined, re-enter and retry; if no room, end
GuestBooking SystemPayment ProviderSearch roomsFind available roomsroomsavailable?[no][yes]Select roomhas promo?[yes]Enter promo code[no]Enter payment detailsAuthorise paymentapproved?[approved]Reserve roomConfirm bookingCapture payment[declined]: retry payment