Picnics R Us (PRU) is a small catering firm with five employees. During a typical summer weekend, PRU caters fifteen picnics with twenty to fifty people each. The business has grown rapidly over the past year and the owner wants to install a new computer system for managing the ordering and buying process. PUR has a set of ten standard menus. When potential customers call, the receptionist describes the menus to them. If the customer decides to book a picnic, the receptionist records the customer information (e.g., name, address, phone number, etc.) and the information about the picnic (e.g., place, date, time, which one of the standard menus, total price) on a contract. The customer is then faxed a copy of the contract and must sign and return it along with a deposit (often a credit card or by check) before the picnic is officially booked. The remaining money is collected when the picnic is delivered. Sometimes, the customer wants something special (e.g., birthday cake). In this case, the receptionist takes the information and gives it to the owner who determines the cost; the receptionist then calls the customer back with the price information. Sometimes the customer accepts the price, other times, the customer requests some changes that have to go back to the owner for a new cost estimate. Each week, the owner looks through the picnics scheduled for that weekend and orders the supplies (e.g., plates) and food (e.g., bread, chicken) needed to make them. The owner would like to use the system for marketing as well. It should be able to track how customers learned about PRU, and identify repeat customers, so that PRU can mail special offers to them. The owner also wants to track the picnics on which PRU sent a contract, but the customer never signed the contract and actually booked a picnic.

The Exercise:

Build a sequence diagram for the PRU This helps build your skills of moving from the class diagram you built earlier, to a dynamic sequence diagram.