Simple Overview with Inline Interaction

The Simple Overview with Inline Interaction pattern creates elements and an Interaction Overview Diagram that contains simple control flow with a decision an Interaction element and two Interaction Occurrence elements.  The Interaction element displays a Sequence diagram (inline) and the two Interaction Occurrence elements reference diagrams indicated by the Ref keyword in the frame corner

Figure 1. Shows an Interaction Overview diagram with an Interaction (of a Timing diagram) and a number of Interaction Occurrences connected by Control Flows and Control Flow structures.

The purpose of the pattern is to describe an interaction from a high level. The syntax of the diagram is similar to the more commonly used Activity diagrams and includes all of the control structures such as Decisions, Merges, Forks and Joins but in place of the Activities Interactions and Interaction Occurrences can be included between Control Flows. 

It is typically used during the analysis phase to create diagrams that describe the interactions from a high level. Since it includes elements that display existing diagrams either inline or by reference the Interaction Overview diagram cannot be defined until the other diagrams have been created.

The following is a list of some things you may want to do when working with this pattern.
·	Change the name of the diagram and the elements to suit the initiative.
Change the referenced diagrams and interactions.
Change the Control Flows adding other control flow structures such as Decisions and Forks where needed.

The following is a list of some of the next steps available when applying the pattern.
·	Define Trace relationships showing how the Components relate to up-process elements such as User Stories, Use Case and Requirements and down-process elements such as Artifacts and database tables.
Create high quality documentation generated automatically from the model.

Reference
The following help topics will assist you learn about how to work with this pattern.
Interaction Overview Diagram
Interaction
Interaction Occurrence

The following are some of the tools that will be helpful when working with this pattern.
Hand Drawn and Whiteboard Diagrams
The Hand Drawn and Whiteboard Mode are display options available for any diagram that changes a system-drawn diagram to appear as though it was drawn by hand and, optionally, hand drawn on a whiteboard. It is a powerful device to engage an audience by presenting the diagram in a rough and more immediate style giving the impression that it is just a sketch that can be changed. For more details see the Hand Drawn and Whiteboard Mode help topic.
Alternate and Images for Diagram Elements
Most standard elements allow an alternate image to be defined for an element that will be used in place of the graphical notation for the element either on a selected diagram or as a default on all diagrams. For more details see the Using the Image Manager help topic.
Pan and Zoom
The Pan and Zoom facility is one of the tools that can be used to navigate around a large diagram. Often the resolution of a diagram must be reduced to ensure it is wholly visible but by using the Pan and Zoom window you can leave the diagram at a readable resolution and pan around to areas of interest zooming in when necessary. For more details see the Pan and Zoom help topic.
Document Generator
The Document Generator is a powerful facility in Enterprise Architect that allows a Database Engineer or other stakeholder to create high quality corporate or technical documentation directly from the model, suitable for internal or external audiences. For more details see the Documentation help topic.

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