Chapter 1: Introduction to UML

Using Rose in Construction

As in the elaboration phase, Rose is used to create Sequence, Collaboration, Class, Statechart, and Component diagrams during construction. Rose is used to create components according to the object design. Component diagrams are created to show the compile−time dependencies between the components. After languages have been selected for each component, the generation of skeletal code can be done. After code has been created by the developers, the model can be synchronized with the code through reverse engineering. Rose is also used in construction to create Deployment diagrams, which describe how the components are to be deployed.

Transition

The transition phase is when the completed software product is turned over to the user community. Tasks in this phase include completing the final software product, completing final acceptance testing, completing user documentation, and preparing for user training. The Software Requirements Specification, Use Case diagrams, Class diagrams, Component diagrams, and Deployment diagrams must be updated to reflect any final changes. It is important to keep these models synchronized with the software product because the models will be used once the software product goes into maintenance mode. Several months after the completion of the project, the models will be priceless in helping to make enhancements to the software.

Rose is used in the transition phase primarily to update the models as the software product is completed. In particular, updates to the Component and Deployment diagrams are common during the transition phase.

Summary

Visual modeling and Rational Rose are useful at several different stages of the software development process. Toward the beginning of the project, in inception, Rose is used to produce the business model and the use case model. During elaboration and construction, Rose is used extensively to develop activity diagrams showing the flow of events. Sequence and Collaboration diagrams show the objects that will be developed and how they interact with one another. Class diagrams are also developed in Rose, showing how the objects relate to each other. Component diagrams are created using Rose to show the dependencies of the components in the system and to allow you to generate skeletal code for the system.

Throughout construction, we use Rose to reverse engineer newly developed code back into the model to incorporate any changes that arise during development. After construction, we move into transition, where Rose is used to update any of the models created during the project.

In the next chapter, we'll take a short tour of Rose. We'll examine the different features and capabilities of the Rose tool, and talk about how to create and save a Rose model or elements of the model. We'll discuss how to navigate Rose, the four views of the model that Rose provides, and how to publish your Rose model on the Web.

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