How to Find Association between Classes - Association Matrix Method

Articles by Bala Paranj

There are many ways to find association between classes. Some of them are:

1. CRC Technique
2. Larman's Association Table

Something that I came across while reading an OO book is the "Association Matrix" for finding association between classes. I find this very interesting and easy for the beginners to use. You don't have to remember anything to come up with the association.

Here are the steps:

1. Find the candidate objects.
2. Draw a table with the candidate objects on the top row and first column.
3. Now fill each row with the name of the association (if there is any association between the candidate classes) or mark X on it (no association).

Remember you don't need all the possible associations between the classes, only the most important ones that add value to understanding the domain. You will know which associations are valuable by referring the requirements/use cases.

Reference: Beginning Java Objects: From Concepts to Code by Jacquie Barker

OOAD skills for the real world projects

Study Guide - Object Oriented Analysis and Design with UML