book

Patterns for Effective Use Cases

by Steve Adolph, Paul Bramble, Alistair Cockburn, Andy Pols

August 2002

Intermediate to advanced

272 pages

6h 27m

English

Addison-Wesley Professional

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Dedication
AudienceOrganizationHow to Use This BookWhat about UML?Why Don't We Use a Single Use Case Template for the Examples?The Agile Software Development SeriesPattern Language Heritage
1.1. Why Use Cases at All?1.2. What's So Hard about Telling Good Stories?1.3. Why a Use Case Pattern Language?1.4. What Are Patterns?1.5. How Should I Use This Pattern Language?1.6. What Is the Use Case Pattern Form?Stepping through a Sample PatternThe NameA PictureThe ContextThe Problem StatementThe Metaphoric StoryThe Forces Affecting the ProblemThe SolutionThe Examples1.7. Organization of the Pattern LanguageDevelopment PatternsThe TeamThe ProcessEditingStructural PatternsUse Case SetsUse CasesScenarios and StepsRelationships1.8. Supplement: A Brief Tutorial on Writing Use Cases
2.1. Team Organizational Issues2.2. SmallWritingTeamExamplesFacilitating Large Groups: No Design without RepresentationLarge Groups and Frequent Checkpoints2.3. ParticipatingAudienceExamplesThe Job Flow EngineMaking MoviesTo the Moon2.4. BalancedTeamExamplesLack of Diversity2.5. Trade-offs and Collaborations

3.1. BreadthBeforeDepthExamples3.2. SpiralDevelopmentExamplesWings Over the WorldA More Literary Example3.3. MultipleFormsExamplesBatch Job DistributionPurchasing for a Business3.4. TwoTierReviewExamplesWings Over the World (Continued)The Programmer Who Cried Review3.5. QuittingTimeExamplesWings Over the World (Continued)3.6. WritersLicenseExamplesWings Over the World (Continued)3.7. Trade-offs and Collaborations
4.1. SharedClearVisionExamplesWings Over the WorldAutomated Railway SignalingMobile Dispatching4.2. VisibleBoundaryExamplesWings Over the World: Context Diagrams4.3. ClearCastOfCharactersExamplesCentre A: The Museum for Contemporary Asian ArtThe Pharmacy Receptionist4.4. UserValuedTransactionsExamplesWings Over the World and UserValuedTransactionsWings Over the World and Avoiding Form-FocusThe Cruddy Mortgage Origination System4.5. EverUnfoldingStoryExamplesWings Over the World and Use Case LevelsCentre A: The Museum for Contemporary Asian Art4.6. Trade-offs and Collaborations
5.1. CompleteSingleGoalExamplesWings Over the World5.2. VerbPhraseNameExamplesInsurance ClaimsUse Case Naming HorrorsGood Use Case Names5.3. ScenarioPlusFragmentsExamplesAuto Insurance Claim Handling5.4. ExhaustiveAlternativesExamplesE-mail Access5.5. AdornmentsExamplesWings Over the World with Adornments5.6. PreciseAndReadableExamplesWings Over the World: Readable but ImpreciseWings Over the World: Precise but Unreadable5.7. Trade-offs and Collaborations
6.1. DetectableConditionsExamplesThe ATM JAD SessionWings Over the World6.2. LeveledStepsExamplesA Long and Tedious Use Case for an On-line StoreA Use Case with Excessively Large Steps for an On-line StoreA Use Case That Mixes Large and Small Steps for an On-line Store6.3. ActorIntentAccomplishedExamplesThe Actor-less ATM6.4. ForwardProgressExamplesWings Over the World: A Diversionary ScenarioInsurance Claim: Not Enough Forward Progress6.5. TechnologyNeutralExamplesFile Accident Claim: Tied to Technology6.6. Trade-offs and Collaborations
7.1. CommonSubBehaviorExamplesWings Over the World and Includes7.2. InterruptsAsExtensionsExamplesWings Over the World and ExtensionsExtensions and UML Extension Points7.3. PromotedAlternativeExamplesWings Over the WorldUsing Extends7.4. Trade-offs and Collaborations7.5. CapturedAbstraction—A Pattern for Applying UML Generalization, by Dan RawsthorneExamplesWings Over the World
8.1. RedistributeTheWealthExamplesCall Processing8.2. MergeDropletsExamplesCall Processing8.3. CleanHouseExamplesHospital Claim8.4. Trade-offs and Collaborations
Chapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 4Chapter 5Chapter 6Chapter 7Chapter 8

Overview

Use cases have become an integral part of modeling software requirements, but many software developers are discovering that writing effective use cases is more difficult than they had anticipated. An understanding of the basic principles of use cases is not enough. Software developers need a source of objective criteria by which to judge quality and effectiveness.

Patterns for Effective Use Cases provides this set of objective criteria. Written by experienced use case practitioners, this book fills a critical information gap by presenting a pattern language that contains over thirty patterns, providing simple, elegant, and proven solutions to the most common problems in use case development. These patterns distill and define the properties and characteristics of quality use cases. As such, they facilitate the development of original use cases and provide a diagnostic tool for evaluating existing ones.

The book opens with a review of use cases and pattern fundamentals, along with a discussion of the requirements-gathering team. These patterns address the use case development process, the internal structure of use cases, and the relationships among use cases within the system as a whole. Examples of patterns include:

BreadthBeforeDepth

VisibleBoundary

EverUnfoldingStory

IntentionRevealingName

PreciseAndReadable

LeveledSteps

InterruptsAsExtensions

RedistributeTheWealth

Each pattern discussion includes at least one example demonstrating its real-world application, highlighting both the benefits of using the pattern and the consequences of not doing so. In addition, the book presents guidelines for the effective use of UML with relevant patterns.

Anyone involved in use case writing or requirements gathering will find Patterns for Effective Use Cases an indispensable handbook and reference.

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