Uses of Use Cases

Using Cases have become the starting point of many current Object Oriented (OO) development methodologies. They generally serve as both a foundation and entry point for the rest of the analysis and development process.It's been my experience while consulting with new clients that three areas of confusion are prevalent regarding cases being applied for the first time. The first area is the structure of cases,including the format and a definition of what a case is. Second is the content of cases; specifically the content of the different sections that make up the case. Third is the context of cases. It also includes numerous compositions on OO methodology and process [RUP], OO notation [UML], and OO transition management. This paper is an overview of some of this documentation, including some techniques that have helped introduce teams to the OO world and the use of Use Cases.