I found some great resources for use case production. My favorite was “Use-Case Model: Writing Requirements in Context” by Craig Larman. It provided a easy to understand elaboration of the use case’s purpose. It also suggested that use cases should refrain from describing implementation details and should be written as clearly as possible. That advice is well-taken because it dovetails with my natural style.
I found it through the Use Case Zone, which has a lot of other good links as well. The seminal work, Writing Effective Use Cases, wasn’t available at any of the libraries within reach so I didn’t consult it but everything I’ve read in the last week suggests that it is the book on this subject.
[UPDATE (6/8/05): Crud, turns out that the QA team uses the use cases to prepare their test plans so I need to rework my paragraphs of description into procedural lists. So I need to do that, merge a couple of use cases together, and excise two architectural musings in two use cases. That’s the diagnosis on my almost-completed rough draft. I can live with that and I’ll certainly be better prepared for future requirements specs.]
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