Prefactoring

2.1. Meet Sam

Systems are not developed in a vacuum. They are created to meet an organization's needs. The client for whom a system is developed is the source of the requirements for the system and is the final decider of whether a system meets those requirements. Sam, the client, represents a composite of clients for whom I have developed systems over the years.

Sam owns the business CD Rental and Lawn Mower Repair. He started out with lawn mower repair and discovered that people who use lawn mowers like to listen to CDs and they prefer listening to a different CD each time they mow. Therefore, Sam came up with the idea of renting CDs. The service started out as a whim, but it has grown dramatically.

Sam contacted me about creating a system for keeping track of rentals in his store. His current system of using cards similar to library cards works, but it is unable to provide him the reports he feels his growing business requires.

Currently Sam has only one store. Since business is booming, he is considering opening several more stores. He wants us to design the system not only so it works in his store today, but so he can change it easily to accommodate multiple stores tomorrow.

2.1.1. Tim the Developer

Tim introduced me to Sam. Tim studied computer science in college and worked summers at Sam's CD Rental and Lawn Mower Repair. He has been working as a programmer for five years, the last couple of years with me. He is back in school getting a master's degree. We still work ...