Use Case Associations (OOM)

An association is a unidirectional relationship that describes a link between objects.

Use case associations can only be created in use case diagrams. You can create them by drawing from:

An actor to a use case - an input association
A use case to an actor - an output association

The UML standard does not explicitly display the direction of the association, and instead has the position of actors imply it. When an actor is positioned to the left of the use case, the association is an input, and when he is to the right, it is an output. To explicitly display the orientation of the association click Tools > Display Preferences, select Use Case Association in the Category tree, and select the Orientation option. For detailed information about working with display preferences, see Core Features Guide > Modeling with PowerDesigner > Diagrams, Matrices, and Symbols > Display Preferences.

Example

Creating a Use Case Association
You can create use case association from the Toolbox, Browser, or Model menu.
Use Case Association Properties
To view or edit an association's properties, double-click its diagram symbol or Browser or list entry. The property sheet tabs and fields listed here are those available by default, before any customization of the interface by you or an administrator.

Parent topic: Use Case Diagrams