Behavior Modeling by Stepwise Refining Behavior Diagrams

Behavior Diagrams are proposed for a graphical representation of the behavior of object types. They consist of a set of interrelated states and activities. Activities correspond to operations of object types, states to their pre- and postconditions. Behavior Diagrams support a top down design. Starting with a Behavior Diagram consisting of a single activity "exist" and a single state "existed", the basic activities and basic states in an objectÆs life cycle can be developed by stepwise refining abstract activities and abstract states. Once the basic activities have been identified, their complete interfaces are represented graphically in separate activity specification diagrams. Finally, their implementations are depicted in activity realization diagrams.