Paths (aka Flow of Events) Are the Meat of the Use Case. Use Cases represent interaction between Actors and Applications that deliver value to the initiator. The sequence of those interactions need to be represented in well-defined paths to keep your Use Cases Lean.

What Is a Use Case Path

There are three different types of paths: Main (aka Standard, Basic), Alternate, and Exception. By distinguishing three distinct path types, your Lean Use Case gains tremendous power in support of effective communication and collaborative development of the solution.

Separating the Standard (Main, Basic, Happy) Path from Alternate and Exception Paths keeps the Use Case simple and straightforward which is aligned with Lean Principles. Keeping Alternate and Exception Paths separate from the Standard Path facilitates modifications to the Use Case as future needs are uncovered.

Although there are no fixed rules for documenting a Use Case, the techniques in this video are best practices to make sure your Use Cases are as good as they can be and will fit into a lean and agile software development environment.