Question
UML: How to model a SW activity that has two separate phases
I want to correctly model my RT/Embedded SW activity as a UML activity diagram. My activity comprises two phases, where Phase 2 runs some (relatively “long”) time after Phase 1 has completed. (And, btw, so they are not parallel.)
Goal of question -- To know if:
My activity is one activity, or in fact two separate activities?
If indeed two separate activities, can I nevertheless legally model it on a single UML activity diagram (maybe optionally as two partitions)?
Additional detail:
The activities generate results in two phases. Let’s name them:
GenResultsPhaseONE and GenResultsPhaseTWO_andOutput
These two activities are not necessarily procedurally linked – but there is indeed a repeated synchronous processing Period, where, let’s say:
At Time T1, GenResults_Phase1 is invoked and generates & saves ResultData_Temp.
At Time T2, GenResults_Phase2_andOutput is invoked and reads ResultData_Temp and processes it further, and generates updated results, and outputs them.
Edit: Added one of the comments to the question to raise the idea and then negate it:
Phase 1 does not control or invoke Phase 2 or in any way pass a 'control token' to some 'master top-level' to cause Phase 2 to later run.
For sure, if Phase 1 would cease to exist there would be no reason for Phase 2 to run (and so maybe there is indeed a sanity check done by Phase 2, or just before it, to check that Phase 1 had run).
But I do not feel this can be considered that Phase 1 controls Phase 1.
They really are independent.