Use cases are a simple, straightforward -- yet very powerful -- way to express the functional requirements (or behaviors) of a system. Use cases have gained widespread acceptance because they make requirements less ambiguous by specifying exactly when and under what conditions certain behaviors occur. As a result, those who effective employ use cases to model their systems can better deliver projects on time, within budget, and with fewer defects. However, use case modeling is not that easy; it is a practice that comes with characteristics that can impact a project. In this new book, the authors allow you to benefit from their considerable experience making use cases work well in a number of different environments. With the advice, tips, and tricks presented herein, the reader will be further along the path to understanding and exploiting the power of use cases, and ultimately constructing better applications. In writing this book, the authors have worked closely with use case founder Ivar Jacobson, and the book is unique in that it presents a Rational Software Corporation-centric examination of this topic.
Friday, August 10, 2007
Writing Effective Use Cases (Paperback)
Use cases have never been this easy to understand -- or this easy to create! In Writing Effective Use Cases, Alistair Cockburn offers a hands-on, soup-to-nuts guide to use case development, based on the proven concepts he has refined through years of research, development, and seminar presentations. Cockburn begins by answering the most basic questions facing anyone interested in use cases: "What does a use case look like? When do I write one?" Next, he introduces each key element of use cases: actors, stakeholders, design scope, goal levels, scenarios, and more. Writing Effective Use Cases contains detailed guidelines, formats, and project standards for creating use cases -- as well as a detailed chapter on style, containing specific do's and don'ts. Cockburn shows how use cases fit together with requirements gathering, business processing reengineering, and other key issues facing software professionals. The book includes practice exercises with solutions, as well as a detailed appendix on how to use these techniques with UML. For all application developers, object technology practitioners, software system designers, architects, and analysts.
Agile Modeling: Effective Practices for Extreme Programming and the Unified Process (Paperback)
The first book to cover Agile Modeling, a new modeling technique created specifically for XP projects eXtreme Programming (XP) has created a buzz in the software development community-much like Design Patterns did several years ago. Although XP presents a methodology for faster software development, many developers find that XP does not allow for modeling time, which is critical to ensure that a project meets its proposed requirements. They have also found that standard modeling techniques that use the Unified Modeling Language (UML) often do not work with this methodology. In this innovative book, Software Development columnist Scott Ambler presents Agile Modeling (AM)-a technique that he created for modeling XP projects using pieces of the UML and Rational's Unified Process (RUP). Ambler clearly explains AM, and shows readers how to incorporate AM, UML, and RUP into their development projects with the help of numerous case studies integrated throughout the book.
- AM was created by the author for modeling XP projects-an element lacking in the original XP design
- The XP community and its creator have embraced AM, which should give this book strong market acceptance
Companion Web site at www.agilemodeling.com features updates, links to XP and AM resources, and ongoing case studies about agile modeling.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)