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Task descriptions versus use cases

  • REFSQ 2011
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Abstract

Use cases are widely used as a substantial part of requirements, also when little programming is expected (COTS-based systems, Commercial-Off-The-Shelf). Are use cases effective as requirements? To answer this question, we invited professionals and researchers to specify requirements for the same project: Acquire a new system to support a hotline. Among the 15 replies, eight used traditional use cases that specified a dialog between user and system. Seven used a related technique, task description, which specified the customer’s needs without specifying a dialog. It also allowed the analyst to specify problem requirements—problems to be handled by the new system. It turned out that the traditional use cases covered the customer’s needs poorly in areas where improvement was important but difficult. Use cases also restricted the solution space severely. Tasks did not have these problems and allowed an easy comparison of solutions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. IT University of Copenhagen, Rued Langgaards Vej 7, 2300, Copenhagen S, DK, Denmark

    Soren Lauesen & Mohammad A. Kuhail

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  1. Soren Lauesen
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  2. Mohammad A. Kuhail
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Correspondence to Soren Lauesen.

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Lauesen, S., Kuhail, M.A. Task descriptions versus use cases. Requirements Eng 17, 3–18 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00766-011-0140-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00766-011-0140-1

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