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Summary: You can't read just one... Page that is...
Review: Never in my life did I imagine I would find a technial book that I could not put down. However, Applying Use Cases kept my interest from start to finish. In fact, I read the book in one day. Where other UML resources touch on the use case concept, Applying use cases goes into detail on the correct way to write and use use cases. The authors' writing style is easy to follow and the real world examples bring an otherwise fuzzy concept into sharp focus. If you find yourself needing to understand how to write use cases, this is the ONLY book you'll ever need!
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Summary: Use Case Points
Review: Over the last year I have come to love Use Cases ... I write them before embarking on any software development project, large or small. The first taste I got of Use Cases was in the "UML Distilled" book (Fowler, Scott).My favorite aspect of "Applying Use Cases" is how it follows a hypothetical project from Inception to Transition phases. The authors provide the reader with a clear idea of how Use Cases fit into the software development process as a whole, rather than just providing some templates for producing Use Case documents without instructions on their use. The best, and worst, thing about books in the Object Technology Series (of which "Applying Use Cases" and "UML Distilled" both belong to) is their brevity. The concepts are conveyed very clearly and concisely, but it feels like I should be getting more substance ... . Overall, this is a wonderful book and belongs on the shelf of any Software Engineer or Project Manager. It goes well with "Extreme Programming Explained" and "A Practical Guide to Extreme Programming", two of my favorites in this genre.
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Summary: Excellent guide to Use Case development and application
Review: Over the last year I have come to love Use Cases ... I write them before embarking on any software development project, large or small. The first taste I got of Use Cases was in the "UML Distilled" book (Fowler, Scott). My favorite aspect of "Applying Use Cases" is how it follows a hypothetical project from Inception to Transition phases. The authors provide the reader with a clear idea of how Use Cases fit into the software development process as a whole, rather than just providing some templates for producing Use Case documents without instructions on their use. The best, and worst, thing about book in the Object Technology Series (of which "Applying Use Cases" and "UML Distilled" both belong to) is the brevity of the books. The concepts are conveyed very clearly and concisely, but it feels like I should be getting more substance for $30+ per book. Overall, this is a wonderful book and belongs on the shelf of any Software Engineer or Project Manager. It goes well with "Extreme Programming Explained" and "A Practical Guide to Extreme Programming", two of my favorites in this genre.
Rating: 
Summary: ehhh ... so-so
Review: Summary: If you've got plenty of $$ go ahead and buy it to get a good, simplistic start but you will need more. I've been doing requirements for quite a few years now and am convinced that use cases are the way to go especially for interactive systems. The key reason being that it forces the analyst to focus on WHAT the system should do rather than the HOW it should do it(I fall in that trap quite often). This particular book uses a different writing method, more story telling in nature. Some people may like it ... I don't care for it personally because the time spent reading Jane and Billy's annoyingly pleasant and simplistic banter could be better spent playing with my kids. It does, however, get around to giving a good academic introduction to the topic but the lack of examples severely hinders it from living up to a level of "practicality" to warrant the inclusion of the word in its title in my opinion. If you are a "just give me some guidelines and show me some good examples and get out of my way" kind of person, this book will make good kindling for your next BBQ -- especially if your software will involve any remotely complex scenarios. Perhaps the problem is that I tend to conceptualize systems in too complex a manner ... but it would be nice if the book helped in that regard as well by educating me relative to pitfalls that may lead me to overcomplicate things. In the end (couldn't finish the book) I find myself still looking for a good book mostly one loaded with realistic, practical, applicable examples.
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Summary: A Quick Read For Those Interested In Use Case Development
Review: This book provides an easy-to-digest introduction to use case development. I wish it had been available when I first began employing use cases. The consistent example of the order entry system -- neither too complex nor too simple -- was helpful in understanding and applying new concepts. However, the fictional example of a team of people meeting periodically to go through the use case exercises was amateurish at its best and painful at its worst. The editors could have cut it entirely, with no loss in readability or understanding. Good dialog is very difficult for even skilled novelists. In my humble opinion, it would have been far more effective had the author pushed the unintentially comical dialog into a full, campy diversion from the topic at hand. Despite this literary faux paxs (presumably provided by the second-billed Jason Winters), Geri Schneider writes with clarity and anticipates questions well.
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Summary: Excellent and Practical
Review: This book provides an excellent introduction to practical application of use cases. Most UML-related books hardly devote a chapter to use cases and use examples which are so elementary they provide little practical value. Applying Use Cases is devoted entirely to the subject of use cases (analysis, rather than design). It touches on design at the boundary between analysis and design and discusses this transitition point. It discusses use case development as an iterative cycle which doesn't end when design begins. Design may uncover more use cases when then need to be anaylzed and the developer(s) must iterate through use cases again. The book uses an online ordering system as an example for building use cases. It presents this fictitious project from inception through to the point of design. This project is large enough that it works well with the topic. It provides enough detail to understand how important use cases are and how much effort should be devoted to them. However, it is not so complex that a UML beginner would have difficulty following it. It is fairly easy reading for a technical book and can be completed in a day. Reading it twice was helpful for me. The little dialogs between the make-believe project team is perhaps a little overdone, but I think it works well in the context of the subject. This presentation style presents the "roots" of use cases fairly well. These types of dialogs are almost always part of the process even though they go undocumented. As with all methodologies, UML included, the analysis of requirements is the most important step. Doing a poor job on use cases will lead to a poorly implemented software system. This book is the best I've seen covering use cases, the UML analysis method. I highly recommend it. I would like to see a follow-on book with a much more complex example which delves into more detail on use cases.
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Summary: Fine book as an introduction to use case technology
Review: This book was just what I wanted as introduction to object oriented use case technology. The example that was used throughout the book was almost exactly what I was looking for to begin the design of an "order processing" Web site. For those who may want to learn more after finishing this book, the resource list will be very helpful. Highly recommended.
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Summary: Was OK in its time
Review: This book will get you up to speed very quickly w/ the needed information to successfully write and use "use Cases". Although this is just one piece of the UML puzzle, this is a great piece to start out with!
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Summary: Very informative and to the point!
Review: This book will get you up to speed very quickly w/ the needed information to successfully write and use "use Cases". Although this is just one piece of the UML puzzle, this is a great piece to start out with!
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Summary: This is a great book and fun to read
Review: This book will give you a great foundation for applying use cases and does so in a format that is to the point and user friendly. The book is only about 180 pages and does well with this amount of space. It doesn't attempt any great tangents of though or reason bit stays focussed on use cases and the relevant material that is associated with the subject. Two points that could be strengthened in the book are: 1) the level of abstraction that you are applying to the use case at a particular time and how this may evolve over time, 2) there could be a little more structure provided for traceability throughout the project lifecycle. Both points are mentioned but the authors never really provide a structured mechanism to handle these issues, which would be a complex requirement for all but he simplest projects. I thought the ongoing fictional case study approach was a great idea. It allowed the reader to catch their breath along the way and also provides for some contextual insight that can be missed in a strictly academic format. Although not directly related to this title, "Designing Object-Oriented Software" by Wirfs-Brock, et. al. is also right on the nose with using a responsibility driven approach and CRC cards. It's a good read by itself but especially in combination with Applying Use Cases.
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