Applying Use Cases: A Practical Guide (2nd Edition)

Description

There have been many changes for us and for the UML since the first edition was released in September 1998. The book has changed to stay current. The material in the first edition is also in the second edition, but you may find it in a new location. We moved the engineering–oriented material to the end of the book, and the business–oriented material to the beginning. This should make it easier for different audiences to find the material that interests them.

We updated the book to UML 1.3. A lot of the changes are in Chapters 3 and 4 because that is where we described most of the notation. The uses relationship became two relationships in UML 1.3, include and generalization. The extends relationship became extend. In both cases the notation changed as well. The definition of scenarios changed a bit too. What we used to call scenarios are now called paths.

We have added some new material that we found useful and important. Chapter 6 is a new chapter on setting the level of detail in use cases. This includes information on business process–level use cases and maintaining traceability between use cases at different levels of detail. Chapter 7, Documenting Use Cases, includes some ideas on handling login and CRUD (create, read, update, delete) in use cases. Chapter 8, Reviews, has a new section on common mistakes we have seen and how to fix them. We have included more information on sequence diagrams in Chapters 5 and 9.

There have been changes for me and Jason as well. Jason left Octel and is now a staff engineer at Cadence Design Systems. I liked having my own business, but didn‘t like the bookkeeping, so I took a job running the OO division of Andrews Technology, Inc. We still have Wyyzzk and Jason does some weekend consulting for that business. Things even changed on the publishing side. Addison–Wesley is now part of Pearson Education, and we have a whole new team managing the Object Technology series. They have been wonderful to work with and made the transition as smooth as possible.

One question we get asked a lot is: What do the footprints and people talking icons mean? The footprints mark major steps in the process. The people talking appear next to the storyline.

Thank you for all the e–mail about the book. We don‘t always get a chance to reply, but we have read all your letters and hope we have answered most of your questions in this second edition. Geri Schneider Winters
Santa Clara, California 0201708531P04062001

Backcover Copy

Use case analysis is a methodology for defining the outward features of a software system from the user‘s point of view. Applying Use Cases, Second Edition, offers a clear and practical introduction to this cutting–edge software development technique. Using numerous realistic examples and a detailed case study, you are guided through the application of use case analysis in the development of software systems.

This new edition has been updated and expanded to reflect the Unified Modeling Language (UML) version 1.3. It also includes more complex and precise examples, descriptions of the pros and cons of various use case documentation techniques, and discussions on how other modeling approaches relate to use cases.

Applying Use Cases, Second Edition, walks you through the software development process, demonstrating how use cases apply to project inception, requirements and risk analysis, system architecture, scheduling, review and testing, and documentation. Key topics include:

• Identifying use cases and describing actors
• Writing the flow of events, including basic and alternative paths
• Reviewing use cases for completeness and correctness
• Diagramming use cases with activity diagrams and sequence diagrams
• Incorporating user interface description and data description documents
• Testing architectural patterns and designs with use cases
• Applying use cases to project planning, prototyping, and estimating
• Identifying and diagramming analysis classes from use cases
• Applying use cases to user guides, test cases, and training material

An entire section of the book is devoted to identifying common mistakes and describing their solutions. Also featured is a handy collection of documentation templates and an abbreviated guide to UML notation.

You will come away from this book with a solid understanding of use cases, along with the skills you need to put use case analysis to work.

Author Bios

Geri Schneider is a senior consultant and trainer at Andrews Technology, Inc., in the areas of iterative development, software project management, object–oriented analysis and design, software architecture, design patterns, and use cases. In addition, she teaches in the software engineering management certificate program for the University of California Santa Cruz Extension. She previously worked for Rational Software Corporation mentoring customers in the areas of iterative development, object technologies, and use case analysis. Jason P. Winters is a staff design engineer for Cadence Design Systems, Inc. He was previously with Lucent Technologies as a staff engineer. At Lucent, he designed and built specialized tools, promoted the use of modern software development practices and tools throughout the company, and mentored projects on object–oriented analysis and design, UML, and use cases.

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