Tool Mentor: Managing Collaboration Diagrams

Purpose

This tool mentor describes how to use Rational Rose® to create collaboration diagrams that show the interactions between objects.

Related Rational Unified Process activities

Overview

The following is a summary of the steps you perform to describe the interactions between objects using collaboration diagrams:

Create a collaboration diagram under the use case realization.
Creating an object in a collaboration diagram.
Creating links between the objects.
Creating messages between objects.

For detailed information about Collaboration Diagrams, see:

Collaboration Diagrams (Overview) in the Rational Rose online help
Chapter 4, Introduction to Diagrams and Chapter 9, Interaction Diagrams and Specifications in the Using Rose manual.

1. Create a Collaboration Diagram Under the Use Case Realization

When you create a collaboration diagram for a use case realization, consider naming the diagram "<use-case name> - <flow type>". This naming convention simplifies future tracing of objects to the use-case realization that they participate in. Also, use the documentation window to enter a brief description of the scenario that the collaboration diagram depicts.

2. Creating an Object in a Collaboration Diagram

A collaboration diagram is an interaction diagram that shows the sequence of messages that implement an operation or a transaction. Collaboration diagrams show objects, their links, and their messages. They can also contain simple class instances and class utility instances. Each collaboration diagram provides a view of the interactions or structural relationships that occur between objects and object-like entities in the current model. In this step, you:

Drag and drop actors onto the sequence diagram.
Add objects to the diagram and identify the classes the objects belong to.

3. Creating Links between Objects

Links provide a way for two objects/actors to exchange messages. A link is an instance of an association, analogous to an object being an instance of a class.

4. Creating Messages between Objects

A message represents the communication between actors and objects, indicating that an action will follow. It carries information from the source focus of control to the destination focus of control. In a collaboration diagram a message icon can represent multiple messages. When you create a message, use the documentation field in the Message Specification to describe the message.

The collaboration diagram toolbox contains two message tools. The forward message tool, bearing an arrow pointing "northeast," places a message icon from client to supplier. The reverse message tool, bearing an arrow pointing "southwest," places a message icon from supplier to client. The default synchronization for a message is "simple."

Rational Unified Process