UML Behavioral Diagrams depict the elements of a system

that are dependent on time and that convey the dynamic

concepts of the system and how they relate to each other.

The elements in these diagrams resemble the verbs in a

natural language and the relationships that connect them

typically convey the passage of time. For example, a

behavioral diagram of a vehicle reservation system might

contain elements such as Make a Reservation, Rent a Car,

and Provide Credit Card Details. Experienced modelers will

show the relationship to structural elements on these

diagrams.

The UML defines seven types of behavioral diagrams.

Diagram Types

Activity Diagram

Activity diagrams are used to model system behaviors, and

the way in which these behaviors are related in an overall

flow of the system (that is, dynamic element interactions).

The logical paths a process follows, based on various

conditions, concurrent processing, data access,

interruptions and other logical path distinctions, are all

used to construct a process, system or procedure.

Example Diagram

This diagram illustrates some of the features of Activity

diagrams, including Activities, Actions, Start Nodes, End

Nodes and Decision points.

Use Case Diagram

Use Case diagrams capture Use Cases and the

relationships between Actors and the subject (system). You

can use them to:

Describe the functional requirements of the system

Describe the manner in which outside things (Actors)

interact at the system boundary

Describe the response of the system

Example Diagram

This diagram illustrates some features of Use Case

diagrams:

StateMachines

StateMachines illustrate how an element (often a Class)

can move between States, classifying its behavior

according to transition triggers and constraining guards.

Example Diagram

This diagram illustrates some features of StateMachines.

Timing Diagram

A Timing diagram defines the behavior of different objects

within a time-scale. It provides a visual representation of

objects changing state and interacting over time. You can

use it to:

Define hardware-driven or embedded software

components; for example, those used in a fuel injection

system or a microwave controller

Specify time-driven business processes

Example Diagram

Sequence Diagram

A Sequence diagram is a structured representation of

behavior as a series of sequential steps over time. You can

use it to:

Depict workflow, Message passing and how elements in

general cooperate over time to achieve a result

Capture the flow of information and responsibility

throughout the system, early in analysis; Messages

between elements eventually become method calls in the

Class model

Make explanatory models for Use Case scenarios; by

creating a Sequence diagram with an Actor and elements

involved in the Use Case, you can model the sequence of

steps the user and the system undertake to complete the

required tasks

Construction

Sequence elements are arranged in a horizontal

sequence, with Messages passing back and forward

between elements

Messages on a Sequence diagram can be of several

types; the Messages can also be configured to reflect the

operations and properties of the source and target

elements (see the Notes in the Message Help topic)

An Actor element can be used to represent the user

initiating the flow of events

Stereotyped elements, such as Boundary, Control and

Entity, can be used to illustrate screens, controllers and

database items, respectively

Each element has a dashed stem called a Lifeline, where

that element exists and potentially takes part in the

interactions

To toggle the numbering of messages on a Sequence

diagram, select or deselect the 'Show Sequence Numbering'

checkbox on the 'Preferences' dialog.

Example Diagram

This example Sequence diagram demonstrates several

different elements.

Communication

Diagram

A Communication diagram is a diagram that shows the

interactions between elements at run-time in much the

same manner as a Sequence diagram. However,

Communication diagrams are used to visualize inter-object

relationships, while Sequence diagrams are more effective

at visualizing processing over time.

Communication diagrams employ ordered, labeled

associations to illustrate processing. Numbering is

important to indicate the order and nesting of processing.

A numbering scheme could be:

1.1

1.1.1

1.1.2

1.2, and so on.

A new number segment begins for a new layer of

processing, and would be equivalent to a method

invocation.

Example Diagram

This example illustrates a Communication diagram among

cooperating object instances. Note the use of message

levels to capture related flows, and the different colors of

the messages.