Implementation case: definition

An implementation case is a concrete use case with implementation details spelt out.

The purpose of implementation cases is to plan the making of the software. They are the kind of use cases suggested by Beck et al. in the Planning Game of extreme programming (the XP people call their cases 'stories'). Implementation cases are useful units of programming.

Implementation cases in AstroGrid are usually at a lower level than UseCases as invisaged in the Rational Unified Process. This is because:

• 'proper' use cases in AstroGrid are too large for flexible planning;
• the designers need to see the internal structures to understand the system;
• user interactions - the stuff of traditional use cases aren't the main focus of the planning.

Implementation cases are at a much lower level than ScienceCases. By itself, an implementation case doesn't enable science.

-- GuyRixon - 22 Apr 2004