Error Handling in an Activity Diagram Research Paper

Analysis of business workflows is essential for further automation and optimization of organizational processes. While analyzing and documenting workflows, it is important to determine key operations, links between key activities, decision points and error-handling pathway (Satzinger, Jackson & Burd, 2011). Fig. 1 represents the activity diagram for online checkout that starts when a customer completes an order, and ends when the shipment is received. This activity diagram reflects major transactions taking place between the start and end points, but it is simplified because it lacks error handling in several critical places. The purpose of this paper is to expand the activity diagram by adding error-handling pathways, to explain the errors that are checked on the updated activity diagram and the need to handle these errors, and to discuss other errors that might need to be checked in the above-mentioned online checkout process.

Fig. 2 represents the updated activity diagram which includes two error handling pathways associated with two errors that might arise during online checkout – customer disapproval of back order if some items are not in stock, and errors emerging after shipment was received. The first type of error is related to the back order approach shown on Fig. 1: if there is no location with sufficient stock, a back order record is created and order status is updated. However, back order is defined as the order which cannot be filled right now, so the customer might have to wait until sufficient stock is available (Rogers, Sharp and Preece, 2011). The major problem with the approach shown on Fig. 1 is the lack of contact with the customer: the order receives the back-order status without notifying the customer. Such decision significantly increases the probability of customer dissatisfaction, since customers might not agree to wait until back orders are delivered. Hence, the revised workflow should be the following: if stock is not found, it is necessary to contact the customer and receive customer approval for a back order. If the customer approves the back order, it is reasonable to create back order record and update order status, as it was suggested on Fig. 1. However, if the customer does not approve a back order, it would be best to renegotiate the order. This process would most likely lead to the creation of a new order, or to the changes in the existing order (so Fig. 2 shows the transition to the start of the workflow).

The second error handled in the updated activity diagram is shipment error. There might be various sources of shipment errors: wrong items might be shipped, wrong quantity of items might be shipped, items might become damaged while being shipped, etc. In any of these cases, the customer will be dissatisfied and the company might lose money; hence, it is essential to handle shipment errors. The actual process of handling shipment errors depends on the internal approach to handling such errors and on the agreement with the shipping company. Fig. 2 shows the generic approach to handling shipment errors: if the shipment is correct, then order shipment status should be updated, and if the shipment is not correct (there are shipment issues), then it is necessary to resolve shipment issues before updating order shipment status.

It is important to note that the two types of errors included in the updated activity diagram do not reflect the whole variety of errors that might emerge in the online checkout workflow. To address other potential errors that might appear in the workflow, it would be best to analyze documentation on checkout issues and to conduct interviews with key employees in order to detect major types of errors (Dennis, Wixom & Tegarden, 2015). For example, the workflow shown on Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 does not account for potential order changes that customers might wish to make while the order is being processed and shipped. In addition, it would be efficient to review best practices associated with online sales and online checkout in order to eliminate typical errors emerging in this sphere.

Figure 1. Initial activity diagram for online checkout

Figure 2. Updated activity diagram for online checkout

 

References

Dennis, A., Wixom, B.H. & Tegarden, D. (2015). Systems Analysis and Design: An Object-Oriented Approach with UML. John Wiley & Sons.

Rogers, I., Sharp, H. & Preece, J. (2011). Interaction Design: Beyond Human – Computer Interaction. John Wiley & Sons.

Satzinger, J., Jackson, R. & Burd, S. (2011). Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World. Cengage Learning.

 

The terms offer and acceptance. (2016, May 17). Retrieved from

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016.

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

freeessays.club (2016) The terms offer and acceptance [Online].
Available at:

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]
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