Visualize user experiences with a use case template

Start by downloading FigJam’s simple use case template, which will function as your blank canvas. Then, identify who will be using your product or application and the various use cases that they may participate in. But what does “use case” mean, anyway? Simply put, it’s a potential scenario that depicts how someone might interact with a product or experience, including events like “add to cart” and “checkout” or “enters bar,” “orders drink,” and “pays tab.”

Speaking of these events, this is what you’ll add to your use case diagram template next, as well as system-user functions and connections between the various actors, use cases, and functions.

Use case diagrams provide valuable information about how and why users are interacting with a system. This can help development teams focus resources and prioritize tasks, and also pinpoint possible problem areas ahead of time.

What is a use case example used for? Here’s an instance of where they would have come in handy:

A user logs on to a website to buy replacement filters for an air purifier. They navigate to the product page for their purifier model. They locate the information about the filter, but the filter’s product page isn’t linked to the purifier product page. Because of this, the user Googles the filter information and ends up buying generic replacement filters from a different company.

Use case diagrams help companies avoid scenarios like this by considering the experience from the perspective of the user seeking out replacement filters.

The first and most important step of creating a use case diagram is determining which user point-of-view you’ll be diagramming. Start by establishing an understanding of the typical users of your system, and the reasons why they’re interacting with the system in the first place—what they need, want, like, and respond to. Then narrow the scope to a specific system interaction and begin diagramming.