Applying Use Cases: A Practical Guide Object Technology Series: Amazon.co.uk: Geri Schneider, Jason P. Winters: Books

Amazon.co.uk Review

A use case is an interaction between your system and an actor--a person or entity using it. So it describes how your system "looks" to the outside world. In Applying Use Cases the authors show you how use cases describe what your system should do and how each thing it does should relate to other parts of the system.

Use cases are an integral part of UML and RUP so enterprise-level programmers need to know them. They are most useful in the planning stages of large projects to provide a sanity check and a framework. The authors demonstrate the use case process with a hypothetical project to develop a new mail order company. Somewhat twee "discussions" between the fictional developers humanise the subject and provide an unusual degree of narrative tension for such an academic work.

About two thirds of the book is concerned with teaching you how use case is employed. It covers documentation, diagramming, levels of detail and the review process. There's also discussion on splitting large projects and construction/delivery of the system. In the appendices you'll find resources--books and Web sites--documentation templates, UML notation and the order processing system itself taken as far as designing graphic interfaces.

All in all, a thoroughly readable, hands on, introduction to an important and useful project design tool. --Steve Patient --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Description

Many projects struggle to define the specific functions of software, and end users often find that the final product does not perform as expected. Use cases allow analysts to identify the required features of a software system based on how each end user will use the system. This efficient and straightforward analysis process gives end users direct input into the design of the system that will serve them. Applying Use Cases provides a practical and clear introduction to developing use cases, demonstrating their use via a continuing case study. Using the Unified Software Development Process as a framework and the Unified Modeling Language (UML) as a notation, the authors step the reader through applying use cases in the different phases of the process, focusing on where and how use cases are best applied.Other highlights include: *A collection of realistic examples showing how to apply use cases, drawn from the authors' extensive experience in this area *A case study that offers insight into the common mistakes and pitfalls that can plague an object-oriented project *An illustration of the latest version of the UML notation for diagramming use cases *A practical "how-to" discussion on applying use cases to identify system requirements 0201309815B04062001

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

Rather over-padded, but otherwise good. 6 Sep 2000

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

I felt that the main points of this book could be compressed to a small pamphlet, but if you're prepared to ignore the waffle, this is indeed a good book. One important, perhaps obvious, point: make sure you become familiar with a Unified Process (e.g. Rational) as a next step, or your development process will be all use cases and nothing else! I think there's a danger of people getting hung up on use cases as the be all and end all of software development process.

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A MUST for entry understanding of Use Cases 9 April 2000

With an offset in the realistic case story the reader is guided with elegance and eloquence through the combination of theory and practice. The case story - the backbone of the whole thing - is beautifully simple and the ongoing quest for more detail and understanding is supplied with great sense of timing and educational understanding. If you dont - but would like to know and understand - Use Case Analysis this book is a treat. Simple and precise.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

The Very best for learning Use Cases 20 Jan 2000

By mar@tpenedo.pt

If you are trying to understand UML and/or the Rational Unified Process,and you are new to these two subjects than you need this book. After spending months in reading book after book, papers after papers this book suddently putted everything in the right perspective. It uses a simple example from the beggining to end to let see things get going. To put it simple this is the book that welcomes you to understand the RUP and use cases.