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Evaluating software tools for systems analysis and design
Boobs applying the techniques accounts for over a third of the book. For first-time users of SSADM the sections such as applied techniques give useful pointers for adapting the method for different types of systems where full, standard SSADM does not appear to be appropriate. However, there are several areas of omission: for instance, there is no guidance for the construction of function catalogues and in parts the text seems uncertain about the differ-
ence between processes and functions (e.g., page AT-34). There is no discussion of dialogue design and comparatively little on the physical design stage; these are both areas that could do with more development and improved guidelines. For departments considering SSADM in a wider context the chapters covering packages, data dictionaries, 4GLs (and prototyping), and software support highlight some points to check and think
about when evaluating their usefulness. Overall, we liked the practical bias of the manual and hope that when SSADM version 4 is released (later this year) there will be an updated edition of both the reference manual and the handbook issued to reflect the changes made.
H EDWARDS and M LEJK Sunderland Polytechnic, UK
Selecting a satisfactory computer-based tool Evaluating software tools for systems analysis and design G Heap NCC, Manchester, U K (1988) 198 pp £65.00 hardback The book applies to computing professionals faced with the problem of selecting a computer-based tool that satisfies the requirements of dataprocessing practitioners. It addresses a real and concrete problem and intends to provide a solution that consists of a method for evaluating software support tools. The evaluation method is strongly process oriented. It consists of a number of tasks that are contained within a procedural framework of stages, steps, and tasks. The evaluation process is decomposed into seven stages, which are intended to cover the initial requests
for an evaluation to the final decision on support tool suitability. Each stage is broken down into a number of steps. Steps are divided into one or more tasks. The publication provides, for each task, a checklist of what is to be done, in what order, and what supporting documentation is required. The evaluation procedure consists of following the procedure of tasks and filling up the documentation. The method looks adequate, providing a complete covering of software aspects and a good level of detail of software analysis. It is difficult to evaluate its efficiency, however, without a practical experiment on real cases. It is mentioned that a practical application of the evaluation procedure has been carried out by the author using a 'hands-on' approach, but the reader would have appre-
ciated finding the results of such application in the appendix of the book. The process orientation of the evaluation procedure hides the 'object' aspect. The reader ignores what might or must be evaluated in a software tool and what criteria can be used to compare tools. The book only emphasizes how to evaluate. No justification is given for the selected stages, steps, and tasks. In addition the 'how to compare' is left to the initiative of the method user. The style of the book is extremely concise. The presentation of the method is based itself on a hierarchical decomposition technique that is clear but that sometimes makes the reading of the book a little hashed. C ROLLAND Universit6 de Paris Sorbonne, Paris, France
Distributed computing for managers in IT user industry Aspects of distributed computer systems (2nd editon) H Lorin John Wiley, Chichester, UK (1988) 339 pp £29.10 hardback Distributed computing has been an active research area throughout the 1980s, based on the developing technology of local area networks. Some, if not yet a great deal, of the work in
vol 32 no 2 march 1990
this subject area has reached the stage of commercial exploitation, for example, the Sun Network Filing System (NFS). In his book on distributed computer systems, Harold Lorin aims to give a 'wholistic' treatment of the subject, yet he appears to write from a rather narrow perspective characterized by work in the USA and particularly by IBM, and to a large extent
by what is available commercially. Much of the recent and ongoing research world wide in distributed systems is not explicitly reported. A check on the Bibliography (there are no references as such) reveals it to be almost entirely populated by ACM and IBM publications. In his Preface, the author asserts that 'there is nothing to report of substance about an environment for
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ence between processes and functions (e.g., page AT-34). There is no discussion of dialogue design and comparatively little on the physical design stage; these are both areas that could do with more development and improved guidelines. For departments considering SSADM in a wider context the chapters covering packages, data dictionaries, 4GLs (and prototyping), and software support highlight some points to check and think
about when evaluating their usefulness. Overall, we liked the practical bias of the manual and hope that when SSADM version 4 is released (later this year) there will be an updated edition of both the reference manual and the handbook issued to reflect the changes made.
H EDWARDS and M LEJK Sunderland Polytechnic, UK
Selecting a satisfactory computer-based tool Evaluating software tools for systems analysis and design G Heap NCC, Manchester, U K (1988) 198 pp £65.00 hardback The book applies to computing professionals faced with the problem of selecting a computer-based tool that satisfies the requirements of dataprocessing practitioners. It addresses a real and concrete problem and intends to provide a solution that consists of a method for evaluating software support tools. The evaluation method is strongly process oriented. It consists of a number of tasks that are contained within a procedural framework of stages, steps, and tasks. The evaluation process is decomposed into seven stages, which are intended to cover the initial requests
for an evaluation to the final decision on support tool suitability. Each stage is broken down into a number of steps. Steps are divided into one or more tasks. The publication provides, for each task, a checklist of what is to be done, in what order, and what supporting documentation is required. The evaluation procedure consists of following the procedure of tasks and filling up the documentation. The method looks adequate, providing a complete covering of software aspects and a good level of detail of software analysis. It is difficult to evaluate its efficiency, however, without a practical experiment on real cases. It is mentioned that a practical application of the evaluation procedure has been carried out by the author using a 'hands-on' approach, but the reader would have appre-
ciated finding the results of such application in the appendix of the book. The process orientation of the evaluation procedure hides the 'object' aspect. The reader ignores what might or must be evaluated in a software tool and what criteria can be used to compare tools. The book only emphasizes how to evaluate. No justification is given for the selected stages, steps, and tasks. In addition the 'how to compare' is left to the initiative of the method user. The style of the book is extremely concise. The presentation of the method is based itself on a hierarchical decomposition technique that is clear but that sometimes makes the reading of the book a little hashed. C ROLLAND Universit6 de Paris Sorbonne, Paris, France
Distributed computing for managers in IT user industry Aspects of distributed computer systems (2nd editon) H Lorin John Wiley, Chichester, UK (1988) 339 pp £29.10 hardback Distributed computing has been an active research area throughout the 1980s, based on the developing technology of local area networks. Some, if not yet a great deal, of the work in
vol 32 no 2 march 1990
this subject area has reached the stage of commercial exploitation, for example, the Sun Network Filing System (NFS). In his book on distributed computer systems, Harold Lorin aims to give a 'wholistic' treatment of the subject, yet he appears to write from a rather narrow perspective characterized by work in the USA and particularly by IBM, and to a large extent
by what is available commercially. Much of the recent and ongoing research world wide in distributed systems is not explicitly reported. A check on the Bibliography (there are no references as such) reveals it to be almost entirely populated by ACM and IBM publications. In his Preface, the author asserts that 'there is nothing to report of substance about an environment for
165