An Approach to Method-Tool Coupling for Software Development

When using a software development method without tool support, developers are often asking how to do what the method instructs them to do. When using a CASE tool without a method, developers are often asking what to do with the tool. Therefore, we propose an approach to method-tool coupling that helps developers following the instructions of a given method by using the supporting tool in the right way. According to this approach, we show how to couple a given method with a supporting tool. We present a prototypical implementation that links a Web-based method representation with so-called cheat sheets, from where tool functionality can be directly invoked. The method represented in the Web pages prescribes the primary tasks to do, while the instructions for the secondary tasks are available in the cheat sheets embedded in the tool.