CASE Tools in Software Engineering

In this tutorial, we will discuss CASE tools, which are Computer-Aided Software Engineering tools. These software applications support software developers and development teams throughout the software development lifecycle. They aid in automating various activities in software engineering processes.

CASE Tools

A CASE tool refers to any computerized software development tool that automates activities involved in software development. These tools assist developers in carrying out different phases of the software life cycle and maintenance.

Types of CASE Tools

There are three types of CASE tools:

• Upper CASE Tools- Tools are used in the early stages of the software development lifecycle.
• Lower CASE Tools- These tools are used in the latter stages of the software development lifecycle.
• Integrated CASE Tools – These tools support early and late stages of software development.

Examples

There are many CASE Tools available to simplify software development and maintenance. These tools can cover various phases of system development depending on the specific tool.

• Project identification and Selection
• Project initiation and Planning
• Requirements Gathering and Analysis
• Design
• Coding and Implementation
• Testing and Debugging
• Support and Maintenance

Here is a collection of helpful tools that can be used at every stage of product development. Some analytical tools used in software development include step-wise refinement and cost-benefit analysis. Products are also available to assist software engineering teams in developing and maintaining software.

• Requirement Management Tools: IBM Rational DOORS, RequisitePro.
• Design Tools: UML diagrams, ER diagrams, IBM Rational Rose, Microsoft Visio, etc
• Configuration Management Tools: Git, Subversion (SVN), and Perforce.
• Build Tools: Make, Apache Ant, and Apache Maven.
• Integrated Development Environments (IDEs): Eclipse, Visual Studio, IntelliJ IDEA, and Apache NetBeans.
• Testing Tools
• Static Analysis Tools: SonarQube, ESLint, and JSHint.
• Dynamic Testing Tools: JUnit, Selenium, and TestNG.
• Bug Tracking Tools: JIRA, Bugzilla, MantisBT, and Redmine.
• Documentation Tools: Doxygen and Javadoc.
• Project Management Tools: Trello, Slack, Microsoft Teams, Asana, etc

Benefits of CASE Tools

There are several benefits of using CASE tools. Some of the benefits are as follows:

• Increased Productivity

The primary reasons for using a CASE tool are to increase productivity and to help produce better quality software at lower cost. Automate the testing process to improve accuracy and completeness. Promote the reuse of modules and documentation to save time and resources.

• Enhance Quality

Optimize systems development to ensure high-quality results. CASE tools enforce best practices and standards. Reducing manual errors and adhering to standards can lead to higher-quality software. Standardize the development process to ensure consistency and reduce errors.

• Ease of Maintenance

Documenting and maintaining software becomes simpler with the appropriate tools. Simplify program maintenance to make it more manageable and efficient.