DCSA Reference Documentation / Standards / Standard Releases / Commercial Schedules / Commercial Schedules v1
DCSA CS 1.0.3 - Use Cases
Contents
- Introduction
- Commercial Schedules standard use cases
- Out of scope
Introduction
Overview
In line with the techniques used in software development, DCSA has incorporated user stories and use cases into the standards development process to support the digitalization efforts of the shipping industry. Both user stories and use cases serve the purpose of capturing and documenting requirements, but they differ in granularity, level of detail, and the stages of the development process in which they are most prominently used. Use cases support user stories: a user story is supported by one or more use cases and vice versa. Together, user stories and use cases can be used to provide a high-level understanding of the business requirements of the system being built.
Use case structure
Use cases are descriptions of how a system responds to a specific request or interacts with a user. They are a valuable technique for capturing and defining functional requirements in a way that is easily understandable by both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
The use cases defined in this standard include the following components:
Actors
Actors are external entities interacting with the system being defined, and can be either users or other systems. They participate in the use case interaction and are the ones for whom the system provides value.
Description
A brief explanation that summarizes the purpose of the use case.
Preconditions
Prerequisites that need to be fulfilled or tasks that must be finished prior to the execution of the use case.
Postconditions
Relevant criteria of the system state after the successful completion of the use case.
Flow
The primary steps of the use case, outlining the expected sequence of interactions between the actors and the system.
Retrieval criteria
The criteria that the Commercial Schedules Consumer may use to request the relevant commercial schedule information.
Exceptions
Situations in which the Commercial Schedules Producer cannot process the request or cannot provide matching commercial schedule information.
Commercial Schedules standard use cases
The following use cases have been created by DCSA to define the business processes supported by the Commercial Schedules standard.
The Commercial Schedules standard supports the retrieval of commercial schedule information from carriers by BCOs, LSPs, and Solution Platforms. It covers point-to-point routings, port schedules, and vessel schedules for commercial planning purposes.
UC1: Retrieving point-to-point routing alternatives
Actors
Commercial Schedules Consumer
Commercial Schedules Producer
Description
A Commercial Schedules Consumer requests from a Commercial Schedules Producer one or more point-to-point routing alternatives matching a defined set of criteria.
The request concerns commercially available end-to-end routing options for moving cargo from place of receipt to place of delivery in the pre-booking phase. The response provides one or more routing alternatives, including relevant schedule information for the full routing and its transport legs, where available.
Preconditions
The Commercial Schedules Consumer has the required criteria to request point-to-point routing alternatives.
The Commercial Schedules Producer has generated, collected, or can retrieve commercial routing schedule information matching the requested criteria.
The Commercial Schedules Consumer is allowed to access the Commercial Schedules Producer interface according to the applicable implementation agreement.
Postconditions
The Commercial Schedules Consumer has the available point-to-point routing alternatives matching the requested criteria.
Flow
The Commercial Schedules Consumer sends the Commercial Schedules Producer a request containing the relevant point-to-point routing retrieval criteria.
The Commercial Schedules Producer retrieves the available point-to-point routing alternatives matching the requested criteria from its systems.
The Commercial Schedules Producer sends the relevant point-to-point routing alternatives to the Commercial Schedules Consumer.
Retrieval criteria
The Commercial Schedules Consumer may request point-to-point routing alternatives using criteria related to:
- place of receipt
- place of delivery
- requested departure or arrival timing
- receipt type at origin
- delivery type at destination
- other criteria supported by the applicable API specification
These retrieval criteria support the user story for retrieving point-to-point routing alternatives.
Exceptions
If the Commercial Schedules Producer cannot process the request or cannot provide matching point-to-point routing alternatives, it responds according to the applicable API specification with the relevant empty or error response.
UC2: Retrieving port schedule information
Actors
Commercial Schedules Consumer
Commercial Schedules Producer
Description
A Commercial Schedules Consumer requests from a Commercial Schedules Producer port schedule information matching a defined set of criteria.
The request concerns vessels scheduled to arrive at and/or depart from a specific port and, where applicable, its terminals. The response provides the relevant vessel schedule information for the requested port, including corresponding schedule timestamps where available.
Preconditions
The Commercial Schedules Consumer has the required criteria to request the relevant port schedule information.
The Commercial Schedules Producer has generated, collected, or can retrieve port schedule information matching the requested criteria.
The Commercial Schedules Consumer is allowed to access the Commercial Schedules Producer interface according to the applicable implementation agreement.
Postconditions
The Commercial Schedules Consumer has the available port schedule information matching the requested criteria.
Flow
The Commercial Schedules Consumer sends the Commercial Schedules Producer a request containing the relevant port schedule retrieval criteria.
The Commercial Schedules Producer retrieves the available port schedule information matching the requested criteria from its systems.
The Commercial Schedules Producer sends the relevant port schedule information to the Commercial Schedules Consumer.
Retrieval criteria
The Commercial Schedules Consumer may request port schedule information using criteria related to:
- a specific port
- a specific terminal, where applicable
- a start date
These retrieval criteria support the user story for retrieving port schedule information.
Exceptions
If the Commercial Schedules Producer cannot process the request or cannot provide matching port schedule information, it responds according to the applicable API specification with the relevant empty or error response.
UC3: Retrieving vessel schedule information
Actors
Commercial Schedules Consumer
Commercial Schedules Producer
Description
A Commercial Schedules Consumer requests from a Commercial Schedules Producer vessel schedule information matching a defined set of criteria.
The request may concern commercial vessel schedule information for a specific service, voyage, vessel, location, or a supported combination of these criteria. The response provides the relevant vessel schedule elements, including the timetable of port calls and corresponding schedule timestamps where available.
Preconditions
The Commercial Schedules Consumer has the required criteria to request the relevant vessel schedule information.
The Commercial Schedules Producer has generated, collected, or can retrieve vessel schedule information matching the requested criteria.
The Commercial Schedules Consumer is allowed to access the Commercial Schedules Producer interface according to the applicable implementation agreement.
Postconditions
The Commercial Schedules Consumer has the available vessel schedule information matching the requested criteria.
Flow
The Commercial Schedules Consumer sends the Commercial Schedules Producer a request containing the relevant vessel schedule retrieval criteria.
The Commercial Schedules Producer retrieves the available vessel schedule information matching the requested criteria from its systems.
The Commercial Schedules Producer sends the relevant vessel schedule information to the Commercial Schedules Consumer.
Retrieval criteria
The Commercial Schedules Consumer may request vessel schedule information using criteria related to:
- a specific service
- a specific voyage
- a specific vessel
- a specific port or terminal
- a start date and/or end date
- other criteria supported by the applicable API specification
These retrieval criteria support the user story for retrieving commercial vessel schedule information, including the nested sub-user stories for retrieving schedules by service, voyage, vessel, or location.
Exceptions
If the Commercial Schedules Producer cannot process the request or cannot provide matching vessel schedule information, it responds according to the applicable API specification with the relevant empty or error response.
Out of scope
The Commercial Schedules standard supports the retrieval of commercial schedule information for point-to-point routings, port schedules, and vessel schedules.
The standard does not define:
- booking creation, amendment, or confirmation;
- price, rate, or capacity confirmation;
- operational schedule alignment between carriers, terminals, and operational partners;
Operational vessel schedule alignment remains in the scope of the Operational Vessel Schedules standard, while Commercial Schedules is intended for BCOs, LSPs, and Solution Platforms consuming schedule information for commercial planning purposes.