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Outcome Relationship

Connects a Use Case to an Outcome, supporting inheritance and contribution mapping

What is an Outcome Relationship?

An Outcome Relationship defines the link between a Use Case and a desired Outcome.

It's more than just a link; it captures how a use case contributes to an outcome. For example, a sub-use case might inherit an outcome from its parent and specify its own specific contribution to that goal.

Why it Matters

  • Traceability: Shows exactly which use cases are responsible for delivering which business results.
  • Inheritance: Allows goals defined at a high level (strategic) to flow down to specific delivery components.
  • Impact Analysis: Helps understand which business goals are at risk if a particular use case is delayed.

Inheritance and Contribution

The Outcome Relationship is a first-class object in the Knowledge Graph that enables:

  • Ownership: The relationship where a Use Case "owns" an Outcome.
  • Inheritance: A child Use Case referencing an Outcome defined on a parent Use Case.
  • Contribution mapping: Capturing metadata about how the child contributes to that desired Outcome (e.g., confidence scores or specific metrics).

Ontology (minimal facts we can state today)

Required facts about an Outcome Relationship

  • Opaque universally unique identifier: A UUID representing this relationship instance.
  • Source Use Case: A reference to the Use Case involved.
  • Target Outcome: A reference to the Outcome being achieved.
  • Contribution description: Textual description of how the use case helps achieve the outcome.
  • Confidence / Priority: Metadata indicating the strength or importance of this relationship.