Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Use of Computer-Aided Software Engineering (CASE) Tools
Computer-aided software engineering (CASE)
tools automate many of the tasks required
in a systems development effort and encourage adherence to the SDLC, thus instilling a
high degree of rigor and standardization to the entire systems development process. Prover
Technology has developed a CASE tool that searches for programming bugs. The CASE
tool searches for all possible design scenarios to make sure that the program is error free.
Other CASE tools include Visible Systems (
www.visible.com
),
Popkin Software
(
www.popkin.com
),
Rational Rose (part of IBM), and Visio, a charting and graphics program
from Microsoft. Companies that produce CASE tools include Accenture, Microsoft, and
Oracle. Oracle Designer and Developer CASE tools, for example, can help systems analysts
automate and simplify the development process for database systems. See Table 12.7 for a
list of CASE tools and their providers. The advantages and disadvantages of CASE tools are
listed in Table 12.8. CASE tools that focus on activities associated with the early stages of
systems development are often called
upper-CASE
tools. These packages provide automated
tools to assist with systems investigation, analysis, and design activities. Other CASE pack-
ages, called
lower-CASE
tools, focus on the later implementation stage of systems develop-
ment, and can automatically generate structured program code.
computer-aided software
engineering (CASE)
Tools that automate many of the
tasks required in a systems
development effort and encourage
adherence to the SDLC.
Table 12.7
CASE Tool
Vendor
Oracle Designer
Typical CASE Tools
Visible Analyst
Rational Rose
Embarcadero Describe
Table 12.8
Advantages
Disadvantages
Advantages and Disadvantages
of CASE Tools
Produce systems with a longer effective
operational life
Increase the initial costs of building and
maintaining systems
Produce systems that more closely meet
user needs and requirements
Require more extensive and accurate
definition of user needs and requirements
Produce systems with excellent
documentation
Produce systems that need less systems
support
Can be difficult to customize
Require more training of maintenance
staff
Produce more flexible systems
Can be difficult to use with existing systems
Object-Oriented Systems Development
The success of a systems development effort can depend on the specific programming tools
and approaches used. As mentioned in Chapter 4, object-oriented (OO) programming lan-
guages allow the interaction of programming objects—that is, an object consists of both data
and the actions that can be performed on the data. So, an object could be data about an
employee and all the operations (such as payroll, benefits, and tax calculations) that might
be performed on the data.
Developing programs and applications using OO programming languages involves con-
structing modules and parts that can be reused in other programming projects. DTE Energy,
a $7 billion Detroit-based energy company, has set up a library of software components that
can be reused by its programmers. Systems developers from the company reuse and contribute
