UML for the IT Business Analyst: A Practical Guide to Object-Oriented Requirements Gathering

401 Pages·2005·7.36 MB·English

by  Howard Podeswa

UML™ for the IT
Business Analyst:
A Practical Guide to
Object-Oriented
Requirements Gathering
Howard Podeswa
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Preface
F
rom 1998-2000,I spent part of my winters on the Cape Town peninsula in South
Africa.It was one those rare times when all aspects of life lined up.There were
days when I prepared for an art exhibition,facilitated workshops in poor neigh-
borhoods,and analyzed IT systems—all in the same day.This book is one ofthe products
of that exciting and very productive time:Its case study is drawn from IT work my com-
pany did there for the CPP (Community Peace Program)—an organization that is trying
to reduce violence in poverty-stricken neighborhoods through a process of dispute reso-
lution,called restorative justice.
One ofthe communities I visited often due to my work was the township ofZweletemba.
There is one point in the drive to Zweletemba where you enter a tunnel that goes right
through the mountains.I always fell asleep at that time and awoke just as we were exiting
the tunnel into what seemed like a magical world.There,inside the mountainous interior
ofthe peninsula,lies Zweletemba—a place ofcontradictions:There is great poverty,where
many people live in ramshackle homes built of materials salvaged from junk piles,but
there is also great physical beauty,personal warmth,music,and humor.
When I began work on this book,I was looking for a case study that would be complex
enough to include the intricacies of typical systems.The CPP’s restorative justice system
came to mind because it has stakeholders that play multiple roles (in the same manner as
customers of an insurance firm that appear as beneficiaries,policy holders,etc.),a key
business object that events, action, and information items are tied to (similar to a
Customer Call in a CRM system),as well as other complex characteristics that show up
time and again in business systems.And,as an unfamiliar system,it puts the reader in the
iv
Preface v
position of extreme Business Analysis—really not knowing anything about the system at
the start ofthe project.This is the side ofBusiness Analysis that I like most about the pro-
fession:The way it gives back has introduced me to a variety ofsystems and,through them,
to the people behind those systems.Through Business Analysis I have met and worked
with people from all walks of life—defense contractors, social workers, investment
bankers,funeral directors—and they have,in turn,satisfied an endless curiosity about peo-
ple and how they do things.This quality ofendless curiosity is a trait I’ve seen in many of
the Business Analysts I’ve met.If it describes you,you’ve found a great profession.I hope
that this book will help you excel at it so that it gives you the enjoyment it has given to me
over the years.
A portion of each book sale goes to support the work of the Peace Committees in South
Africa.Every cent of this contribution will be spent in and on the poorest of the poor in
South Africa to create work and enable them to decide how best to build and strengthen
their communities.Ifyou would like to support their work,please contact John Cartwright
at [email protected].
—Howard Podeswa
Acknowledgments
S
pecial thanks go out to Charlie Orosz,Scott Williams,Tim Lloyd,Gerry de Koning,
Fern Lawrence, Clifford Shearing, Ideaswork (formerly Community Peace
Program),and the Zweletemba Peace Committee.
And a personal thank you to the technical editor,Brian Lyons,for an incredibly knowl-
edgeable and thorough review.The experience of being put under the Lyons microscope
is a challenging one—but one I wouldn’t have missed for the world.
vi
About the Author
H
oward Podeswais the co-founder ofNoble,Inc.,a Business Analysis (BA) con-
sulting and training company.He has 26 years ofexperience in many aspects of
the software industry,beginning as a developer for Atomic Energy of Canada,
Ltd., and continuing as Systems Analyst, Business Analyst, consultant, and author of
courseware for IT professionals.He has provided consulting services to a diverse client
base,including the Canadian Air Force (MASIS),the South African Community Peace
Program,and major financial institutions (Deloitte and Touche,CIBC bank,CGU,etc.)
and is a sought-after speaker at international BA conferences.In addition,Howard col-
laborates with CDI Education on object-oriented projects and training and has designed
BA OO training programs for numerous institutions, including Boston University,
Humber College,and Polar Bear.Most recently,he was brought on as a subject matter
expert for NITAS—a BA apprenticeship program for CompTIA.Howard is also a recog-
nized visual artist whose work has been exhibited and reviewed internationally and sup-
ported by the Canada Council for the Arts.His most recent exhibition—Object Oriented
Painting Show (OOPS)—was the first to combine his two passions—OO technology and
painting.
vii
Contents
Introduction.............................................................................xix
chapter 1 Who Are IT Business Analysts?.................................................1
Chapter Objectives.....................................................................................1
The IT and Non-IT BA.................................................................................1
Perspective on the IT BA Role....................................................................1
Why Modeling Is a Good Thing.................................................................2
The Dynamic (Behavioral) Model..............................................................3
The Static (Structural) Model.....................................................................3
For Those Trained in Structured Analysis..................................................4
Chapter Summary.......................................................................................5
chapter 2 The BA’s Perspective on Object Orientation............................7
Chapter Objectives.....................................................................................7
What Is OO?................................................................................................8
The UML Standard......................................................................................8
Cognitive Psychology and OO?..................................................................8
Objects........................................................................................................9
The BA Perspective............................................................................9
Attributes and Operations.........................................................................9
The BA Perspective............................................................................9
Operations and Methods.........................................................................10
The BA Perspective..........................................................................10
viii
Contents ix
Encapsulation...........................................................................................10
The BA Perspective..........................................................................10
OO Concept: Classes.................................................................................11
The BA Perspective..........................................................................12
OO Concept: Relationships......................................................................12
OO Concept: Generalization....................................................................12
The BA Perspective..........................................................................14
OO Concept: Association.........................................................................14
The BA Perspective..........................................................................14
OO Concept: Aggregation.......................................................................15
The BA Perspective..........................................................................15
OO Concept: Composition.......................................................................15
The BA Perspective..........................................................................16
OO Concept: Polymorphism.....................................................................16
The BA Perspective..........................................................................17
Use Cases and Scenarios...........................................................................18
The BA Perspective..........................................................................18
Business and System Use Cases................................................................19
The BA Perspective..........................................................................19
Chapter Summary.....................................................................................20
chapter 3 An Overview of Business Object-Oriented
Modeling (B.O.O.M.)................................................................21
Chapter Objectives...................................................................................21
B.O.O.M. and SDLCs.................................................................................21
The B.O.O.M. Steps...................................................................................22
1: Initiation......................................................................................22
2: Analysis........................................................................................23
Sequencing the Steps...............................................................................24
What Do You Define First—Attributes or Operations?.........................25
Chapter Summary.....................................................................................25
chapter 4 Analyzing End-to-End Business Processes.............................27
Chapter Objectives...................................................................................27
B.O.O.M. Steps..........................................................................................27
1. Initiation......................................................................................27
Interviews During the Initiation, Analysis, and Test Phases..................28