About ten years ago we left IBM/Rational and had been teaching classes on use case modelling. We were frequently asked by students what the best tool was to capture use cases. We didn't have a good answer - no such tool existed. So we decided to build one. Today CaseComplete manages all kinds of requirements, but was built from the start with use case modelling in mind.
When we looked at the market before starting on CaseComplete, we found existing tools treated requirements as blocks of text with a focus on putting things into a hierarchy (e.g. Req 1.0, Req 1.1, Req 1.2, Req 2.0). We decided a better approach was to think about the kinds of information that a use case modeler would capture and build a tool around that.
So constructs like Actors, Goals, and Use Cases are built right into the tool - they are not merely attributes of a generic requirement.
Since these constructs are built-in, we designed the user interface to help you capture the right information for each of these as quickly and as accurately as possible. These editors guide you to specify the right attributes for each construct. The dynamic help system provides explanations and examples of these attributes. Some specific examples:
- The Actor editor prompts you to identify goals for each actor.
- CaseComplete can take those goals, create a set of uses cases directly from them, and then links the two together.
- While creating your use cases, the step editor lets you write the flow of events quickly, linking together steps and extensions.
- Since you'll likely want to identify test scenarios around these steps, the UI lets you do this, specifying test inputs and expected results for each step.
- All the while you're editing, you're able to take parts of your text and add it to a dictionary, break it out as a separate requirement, or use it as a basis for a new use case.
The built in reports also reflect the things you'd probably want to show to your stakeholders. Around all of this is a requirements gathering road map that can guide the analyst through the process of writing a good set of requirements with use cases. Experience with our customers has shown they often want to get into use case modelling and manage requirements more effectively, but not every analyst will be a use case expert or familiar with the same process.
To answer more directly, here are specific features that are unique and beneficial:
- A data model that is based on use cases and their corresponding constructs (actors, goals, use cases, requirements).
- A user interface that is designed to capture the details for each of these different constructs quickly and accurately (i.e. you're not just typing into a text box).
- Automation around common tasks associated with use case modelling (e.g. creating use cases from goals, creating activity diagrams from use case steps, adding test scenarios to use case scenarios).
- A process road map that shows the user a complete workflow for use case modeling.
In short, use case modeling is built into every aspect of CaseComplete. Really.