An Information Abstraction Model for End User CASE Support

Abstract

With powerful workstations becoming commonplace, Computer-Aided Software Engineering (CASE) tools seem ready to provide invaluable support throughout the systems life cycle. Only CASE tools answer the need for better ways to develop systems with broad opportunities for automation, which also allows for development of applications too complex to develop by traditional methods. Currently a favored approach, promising to improve quality and productivity, CASE tools have become the mainstream information technology that separates the world-class players from the mediocre software shops. The concept of using computers to automate systems development is not new—in a sense, common language compilers and interpreters can be thought of as CASE tools. Whitten et al. (1994) present the history of CASE tools as dating back to the early 1970s. They point out that early tools allowed for user problems and solution requirements for an information system to be stored in a computerized dictionary. Tools were also developed for analyzing these problems and requirement statements for completeness and accuracy. UnComputer-aided software engineering (CASE) tools have been judged as failures by various, traditional measures of an organization’s success in systems development. We propose to use the Software Engineering Institute Capability Maturity Model (CMM) as a framework for developing a more relevant measure of success. The result, an Information Abstraction Model (IAM), identifies the information required for effective management of software development practices that would support a CMM Level 3 definition. An integrated CASE toolset is presented that would enable the practical use of the IAM in the pursuit of a more mature organization.