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One Model, Many Interests, Many Views
Like the hierarchy diagram, the spider diagram is a generic visual query with no implied semantic
meaning. As a simple node and line diagram with no special symbology, it is easily accessible by a
broad audience. Good communication in a spider diagram is often heavily influenced by the creator. As
a free-form diagram, it should be configured in a way calculated to display the relationships depicted in
an understandable and informative manner.
Use Case Diagram
Classically used to help elicit requirements from stakeholders, use case diagrams describe the
functionality of a system from the user perspective. The use case diagram is a graphical representation
of actors (humans), blocks (components), and use cases. As such, they are also a very effective bridge
in the systems engineering journey from requirements to system behavior.
Level of Detail:
Low
Audience:
General
Content:
Use cases
and corresponding
actors (components)
Use:
High-level
tool to elicit
requirements;
bridge from
requirements to
system threads