Case*Method: Tasks and Deliverables

From the Book: How do you write a book that usefully tells you what to do to produce a well-engineered solution, without it simply being a set of uninteresting checklists? Well, I'm not sure anyone knows, but our objective was to distil into a relatively short book as much guidance as possible on what to do, with some practical advice and help on how to get it right. Other books in this series address a number of the most significant techniques referred to, such as entity relationship modelling, interviewing, presentation techniques and function modelling. Tasks and Deliverables forms the heart or structure of CASE Method. It has been derived from many years' collective experience delivering systems to clients and building software products. The primary thrust of the book is for a top-down approach, which reflects our strongly-held belief that any new or revised system must start off within the scope of what the users perceive as their future needs. We were rather concerned that the book might be used purely as a prescriptive mechanism to set out a project plan. To alleviate that worry we have attempted to add a little of the culture that we have found helps us in the way we approach the work. A good example is when interviewing someone during analysis. Aim to complete the interview with a comprehensive and coherent picture of what the interviewee does, needs and believes in. You will then be able to create various models and requirements based on understanding rather than some form of wish list. Given true understanding you can often fill in gaps and make better decisions, thus speeding up the whole process. Revised Edition CASE Method continues to evolve, and Tasks andDeliverables has been revised to take account of the latest advances in the field. We have also been very pleased to address feedback from many readers who kindly sent in comments and ideas. Please continue to send in your observations. Two new chapters have been added to cover quality assurance and its implications in more detail, and to give more guidance on different sizes and types of project. In an ideal world you would be asked to devise a new system from start to finish; without the shackles of integrating with an old and, perhaps, badly-designed system, or trying to sort out the mess left by someone else, or having to cope with a mish-mash of different hardware and software that you personally would not have chosen in the first place. But this is the real world, and you may have to provide a rescue package or coexist with systems that still have years of life to run. We have omitted the appendix on data normalization from this edition. It is now dealt with in the Entity Relationship Modelling book. Appendices E and F on prototyping and feedback have been expanded from mere skeletons, and Appendix D has increased considerably as the CASE tools themselves have increased in number and scope. AcknowledgmentsTasks and Deliverables was a team effort, with the leading members acknowledged in the list of writers. We could not, however, list all those colleagues and customers whose contributions have led to the evolution of CASE Method itself. I would like to thank them for their help over the years. And to our readers, your comments are particularly welcome as a guide to further information you would find helpful. Richard Barker January 1990