--- product_id: 5779548 title: "Writing Effective Use Cases (Agile Software Development Series)" price: "€ 40.07" currency: EUR in_stock: true reviews_count: 9 url: https://www.desertcart.at/products/5779548-writing-effective-use-cases-agile-software-development-series store_origin: AT region: Austria --- # Writing Effective Use Cases (Agile Software Development Series) **Price:** € 40.07 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Writing Effective Use Cases (Agile Software Development Series) - **How much does it cost?** € 40.07 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.at](https://www.desertcart.at/products/5779548-writing-effective-use-cases-agile-software-development-series) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description Writing Effective Use Cases (Agile Software Development Series) [Cockburn, Alistair] on desertcart.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Writing Effective Use Cases (Agile Software Development Series) Review: Distills the core idea behind use cases - Having tried 'Use Cases: Requirements in Context' and 'Managing Software Requirements: A Use Case Approach' I can tell you this is the book to really understand what's the whole point of Use Cases. Whenever I am introduced to a modeling tool (UML would be another example for me) I always end up wondering what to put and what to leave out of the model I am building for the problem at hand. This book does not give you a specific answer (who would want a solution that would only apply to only a limited set of problems? I did not, at least for the project I used this book for), it gives you the very essence of the criteria you should apply to include something or not. By comparing this book to the other ones, this is superior because it does not provide a specific framework with esoteric descriptions about how Use Cases evolve throughout the project life cycle. It describes the purpose of writing use cases: describing a goal of some importance to an actor. So many times I have read these 'Use Cases' that describe a system in terms of people pushing buttons, changing values in some UI and end up describing the system in terms of CRUD operations not descriptive by any means. If, after all, most 'Enterprise Systems' built are just fancy and costly web-versions of SELECT, INSERT, DELETE and UPDATE statements executed against a database, how informative can be use cases that only say a system INSERTS/UPDATES/DELETES/QUERIES data in a database? By describing a user goal, all database operations (and many other interactions with any back-end systems) start making sense. I have found that we human beings are so good at 'filling out the blanks' that some of these operations might even sound obvious at times. This book will guide you during the writing of your use cases, keep them at consistent levels of abstraction and, more important, at all times highlight the ultimate goal your user wants to achieve by executing a use case. If you really want to complement the topics in this book, consider the perfect companion 'Patterns for Effective Use Cases'. Cheers! Ytsejammer Review: This Book Will Help - I had never heard of Use Cases until taking a class in Systems Analysis and Development. So I went to desertcart and did a search for books on Use Cases and saw that this one was rated quite high. I believe I read all the customer reviews. I don't understand how most everyone can give a 5 star rating and one person gives it a 1 star rating. I must say that this book could make even someone new like me, being new to Use Cases, look good. The Table of Contents makes it easy to find an overall view of Use Case topics and the Index breaks it down in great detail. The book is described by the author as a book that is, "predominately aimed at industry professionals who read and study alone, and is therefore organized as a self-study guide." I like that. If you are looking for a book for a class, such as the one I took, or just want to look good at work to describe a process, behavioral requirements, or software development, surely this book could help you too. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | ASIN | 0201702258 | | Best Sellers Rank | #587,370 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #146 in Object-Oriented Design #555 in Software Development (Books) #1,425 in Computer Software (Books) | | Customer Reviews | 4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars (235) | | Dimensions | 7.3 x 0.7 x 9 inches | | Edition | 1st | | ISBN-10 | 9780201702255 | | ISBN-13 | 978-0201702255 | | Item Weight | 1 pounds | | Language | English | | Print length | 304 pages | | Publication date | October 5, 2000 | | Publisher | Addison-Wesley Professional | ## Images ![Writing Effective Use Cases (Agile Software Development Series) - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/615JY5olr6L.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Distills the core idea behind use cases *by C***H on May 19, 2009* Having tried 'Use Cases: Requirements in Context' and 'Managing Software Requirements: A Use Case Approach' I can tell you this is the book to really understand what's the whole point of Use Cases. Whenever I am introduced to a modeling tool (UML would be another example for me) I always end up wondering what to put and what to leave out of the model I am building for the problem at hand. This book does not give you a specific answer (who would want a solution that would only apply to only a limited set of problems? I did not, at least for the project I used this book for), it gives you the very essence of the criteria you should apply to include something or not. By comparing this book to the other ones, this is superior because it does not provide a specific framework with esoteric descriptions about how Use Cases evolve throughout the project life cycle. It describes the purpose of writing use cases: describing a goal of some importance to an actor. So many times I have read these 'Use Cases' that describe a system in terms of people pushing buttons, changing values in some UI and end up describing the system in terms of CRUD operations not descriptive by any means. If, after all, most 'Enterprise Systems' built are just fancy and costly web-versions of SELECT, INSERT, DELETE and UPDATE statements executed against a database, how informative can be use cases that only say a system INSERTS/UPDATES/DELETES/QUERIES data in a database? By describing a user goal, all database operations (and many other interactions with any back-end systems) start making sense. I have found that we human beings are so good at 'filling out the blanks' that some of these operations might even sound obvious at times. This book will guide you during the writing of your use cases, keep them at consistent levels of abstraction and, more important, at all times highlight the ultimate goal your user wants to achieve by executing a use case. If you really want to complement the topics in this book, consider the perfect companion 'Patterns for Effective Use Cases'. Cheers! Ytsejammer ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ This Book Will Help *by R***R on June 20, 2004* I had never heard of Use Cases until taking a class in Systems Analysis and Development. So I went to Amazon and did a search for books on Use Cases and saw that this one was rated quite high. I believe I read all the customer reviews. I don't understand how most everyone can give a 5 star rating and one person gives it a 1 star rating. I must say that this book could make even someone new like me, being new to Use Cases, look good. The Table of Contents makes it easy to find an overall view of Use Case topics and the Index breaks it down in great detail. The book is described by the author as a book that is, "predominately aimed at industry professionals who read and study alone, and is therefore organized as a self-study guide." I like that. If you are looking for a book for a class, such as the one I took, or just want to look good at work to describe a process, behavioral requirements, or software development, surely this book could help you too. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Explores the details that helps with user stories *by S***N on March 4, 2025* The first thing I noticed is that this book is almost 25 years old. That’s an eternity in computer science, especially in a non-mathematical subject. It was written under the “waterfall” paradigm of software development, before agile took over most of the software engineering world. Instead of a page or two, waterfall specifications could require a binder of dozens, if not hundreds, of pages. This book describes “use cases” instead of the “user stories” that agile commends. Why is this book worth someone’s time? In other words, why did I choose to read it? For two reasons. First, I’m a big fan of studying history. I’ll admit that I didn’t read every page closely in 2025, but I picked up on why agile design documents are organized a certain way. Knowing the history of the field allows me to understand the present better – and theoretically, be prepared for the future better. Second, most of the literature I’ve read on user stories is overly simplistic. They don’t go into enough detail about what to choose and how. When communicating with my developers, I want to understand what possibilities can and cannot be communicated. To see the global set of options, I had to go back in time to when large design documents were the norm. Just like when someone reads Beowulf or The Canterbury Tales to understand how modern literature took its form, I can see all the glorious option that writing a user story encompasses. Realistically, I don’t expect this book to be explored by a ton of people now. After all, it’s almost 25 years old! But thumbing through its pages enlightened me a bit as I start to communicate my ideas to the developers I work with. This was the greatest book on use cases in the waterfall era, written by the greatest expert on the subject, so I’m better primed to jump into agile practices and whatever era comes next. --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.at/products/5779548-writing-effective-use-cases-agile-software-development-series](https://www.desertcart.at/products/5779548-writing-effective-use-cases-agile-software-development-series) --- *Product available on Desertcart Austria* *Store origin: AT* *Last updated: 2026-04-22*