Liiketoimintakäyttötapaus

Liiketoimintakäyttötapaus, often translated as "business use case," is a method used in business analysis and project management to describe how a system or process will be used to achieve specific business goals. It outlines a sequence of interactions between an actor (a user or another system) and the system itself to achieve a particular outcome. The primary purpose of a business use case is to define the functionality of a system from the user's perspective and to ensure that the system meets the needs of the business.

A typical business use case includes a clear title, a brief description of the goal, the actors involved, preconditions that must be met before the use case can start, the main success scenario (a step-by-step description of the typical interaction), and alternative flows or exceptions that might occur. It also often includes postconditions, which describe the state of the system after the use case is successfully completed. By documenting these elements, stakeholders can gain a shared understanding of the intended system behavior and its value to the organization.

Business use cases are valuable for identifying requirements, communicating system functionality, and validating that the developed system aligns with business objectives. They serve as a bridge between business needs and technical solutions, helping to prevent scope creep and ensure that projects deliver tangible business benefits. They are a fundamental tool in agile and traditional software development methodologies alike.