An activity cycle diagram (ACD) is a graphical modeling tool to depict interactions among objects in a system.[1]
Origin
The ACD is a modeling tool that was developed in 1960 following the flow diagram method of
K.D. Tocher.[2] It pertains to the activity-based paradigm of system modeling, as opposed to
process-oriented or
event-based paradigms. The activity-based modeling is a natural way to represent the knowledge about a system in the activity paradigm of
discrete event simulation.
Characteristics
The activity cycle diagram is characterized by its focus on the life cycle of the components of a system, distinguishing for each component a "dead" state and an "active" state.[3]
Implementation
In activity-based modeling,[4] the
dynamics of system is represented as an ACD which is a network model of the
logical and temporal relationships among the activities. An ACD is easily implemented with the activity scanning method of
simulation execution.[5]