Software Prototyping


Rapid software development to
validate requirements
Objectives

To describe the use of prototypes in different
types of development project

To discuss evolutionary and throw-away
prototyping

To introduce three rapid prototyping techniques -
high-level language development, database
programming and component reuse

To explain the need for user interface prototyping
Topics covered

Prototyping in the software process

Prototyping techniques

User interface prototyping
System prototyping

Prototyping is the rapid development of a system

In the past, the developed system was normally
thought of as inferior in some way to the required
system so further development was required

Now, the boundary between prototyping and
normal system development is blurred and many
systems are developed using an evolutionary
approach
Uses of system prototypes

The principal use is to help customers and
developers understand the requirements for the
system
• Requirements elicitation. Users can experiment with a prototype
to see how the system supports their work
• Requirements validation. The prototype can reveal errors and
omissions in the requirements

Prototyping can be considered as a risk reduction
activity which reduces requirements risks
Prototyping benefits

Misunderstandings between software users and
developers are exposed

Missing services may be detected and confusing
services may be identified

A working system is available early in the process

The prototype may serve as a basis for deriving a
system specification

The system can support user training and system
testing
Prototyping process

Establish Define
Develop Evaluate
prototype prototype
prototype prototype
objectives functionality

Prototyping Outline Executable Evaluation

plan definition prototype report
Prototyping benefits

Improved system usability

Closer match to the system needed

Improved design quality

Improved maintainability

Reduced overall development effort
Prototyping in the software process

Evolutionary prototyping
• An approach to system development where an initial prototype
is produced and refined through a number of stages to the final
system

Throw-away prototyping
• A prototype which is usually a practical implementation of the
system is produced to help discover requirements problems and
then discarded. The system is then developed using some other
development process
Prototyping objectives

The objective of evolutionary prototyping is to
deliver a working system to end-users. The
development starts with those requirements which
are best understood.

The objective of throw-away prototyping is to
validate or derive the system requirements. The
prototyping process starts with those
requirements which are poorly understood
Approaches to prototyping

Evolutionary Delivered
prototyping system
Outline
Requirements
Throw-away Executable Prototype +
Prototyping System Specification
Evolutionary prototyping

Must be used for systems where the specification
cannot be developed in advance e.g. AI systems
and user interface systems

Based on techniques which allow rapid system
iterations

Verification is impossible as there is no
specification. Validation means demonstrating the
adequacy of the system
Evolutionary prototyping

Develop abstract Build prototype Use prototype

specification system system

Deliver YES System

system adequate?
Evolutionary prototyping advantages

Accelerated delivery of the system
• Rapid delivery and deployment are sometimes more important
than functionality or long-term software maintainability

User engagement with the system
• Not only is the system more likely to meet user requirements,
they are more likely to commit to the use of the system
Evolutionary prototyping

Specification, design and implementation are
inter-twined

The system is developed as a series of increments
that are delivered to the customer

Techniques for rapid system development are
used such as CASE tools and 4GLs

User interfaces are usually developed using a GUI
development toolkit
Evolutionary prototyping problems

Management problems
• Existing management processes assume a waterfall model of
development
• Specialist skills are required which may not be available in all
development teams

Maintenance problems
• Continual change tends to corrupt system structure so long-term
maintenance is expensive

Contractual problems
Prototypes as specifications

Some parts of the requirements (e.g. safety-
critical functions) may be impossible to prototype
and so don’t appear in the specification

An implementation has no legal standing as a
contract

Non-functional requirements cannot be
adequately tested in a system prototype
Incremental development

System is developed and delivered in increments after
establishing an overall architecture

Requirements and specifications for each increment
may be developed

Users may experiment with delivered increments
while others are being developed. therefore, these
serve as a form of prototype system

Intended to combine some of the advantages of
prototyping but with a more manageable process and
better system structure
Incremental development process
Define system
deliverables

Design system Specify system Build system Validate

architectur e increment increment increment

NO

Deliver final System Validate Integrate

system complete? system increment
YES
Throw-away prototyping

Used to reduce requirements risk

The prototype is developed from an initial
specification, delivered for experiment then
discarded

The throw-away prototype should NOT be
considered as a final system
• Some system characteristics may have been left out
• There is no specification for long-term maintenance
• The system will be poorly structured and difficult to maintain
Throw-away prototyping
Outline Develop Evaluate Specify
requirements prototype prototype system

Reusable
components

Delivered
Develop Validate software
software system system
Prototype delivery

Developers may be pressurised to deliver a
throw-away prototype as a final system

This is not recommended
• It may be impossible to tune the prototype to meet non-
functional requirements
• The prototype is inevitably undocumented
• The system structure will be degraded through changes made
during development
• Normal organisational quality standards may not have been
applied
Rapid prototyping techniques

Various techniques may be used for rapid
development
• Dynamic high-level language development
• Database programming
• Component and application assembly

These are not exclusive techniques - they are
often used together

Visual programming is an inherent part of most
prototype development systems
Dynamic high-level languages

Languages which include powerful data
management facilities

Need a large run-time support system. Not
normally used for large system development

Some languages offer excellent UI development
facilities

Some languages have an integrated support
environment whose facilities may be used in the
prototype
Prototyping languages
Choice of prototyping language

What is the application domain of the problem?

What user interaction is required?

What support environment comes with the
language?

Different parts of the system may be programmed
in different languages. However, there may be
problems with language communications
Database programming languages

Domain specific languages for business systems
based around a database management system

Normally include a database query language, a screen
generator, a report generator and a spreadsheet.

May be integrated with a CASE toolset

The language + environment is sometimes known as
a fourth-generation language (4GL)

Cost-effective for small to medium sized business
systems
Database programming
Interface
generator Spreadsheet

DB Report
programming generator
language

Database management system

Fourth-gener ation language

Component and application assembly

Prototypes can be created quickly from a set of
reusable components plus some mechanism to
‘glue’ these component together

The composition mechanism must include control
facilities and a mechanism for component
communication

The system specification must take into account
the availability and functionality of existing
components
Prototyping with reuse

Application level development
• Entire application systems are integrated with the prototype so
that their functionality can be shared
• For example, if text preparation is required, a standard word
processor can be used

Component level development
• Individual components are integrated within a standard
framework to implement the system
• Frame work can be a scripting language or an integration
framework such as CORBA
Reusable component composition

Reusable Component
software Executable
composition
prototype
components framework

Control and
integration code
Compound documents

For some applications, a prototype can be created
by developing a compound document

This is a document with active elements (such as
a spreadsheet) that allow user computations

Each active element has an associated application
which is invoked when that element is selected

The document itself is the integrator for the
different applications
Application linking in compound documents

Compound document

Text 1 Table 1 Text 2 Text 3 Sound 1

Table 2 Text 4 Sound 2 Text 5

Word processor Spreadsheet Audio player

Visual programming

Scripting languages such as Visual Basic support
visual programming where the prototype is
developed by creating a user interface from
standard items and associating components with
these items

A large library of components exists to support
this type of development

These may be tailored to suit the specific
application requirements
Visual programming with reuse
Hypertext
Date component display component

File Edit Views Layout Options Help

General
12th January 2000 Index
Range checking 3.876
script
User prompt
component +
Draw canvas script
component

Tree display
component
Problems with visual development

Difficult to coordinate team-based development

No explicit system architecture

Complex dependencies between parts of the
program can cause maintainability problems
User interface prototyping

It is impossible to pre-specify the look and feel of a
user interface in an effective way. prototyping is
essential

UI development consumes an increasing part of
overall system development costs

User interface generators may be used to ‘draw’ the
interface and simulate its functionality with
components associated with interface entities

Web interfaces may be prototyped using a web site
editor
Key points

A prototype can be used to give end-users a concrete
impression of the system’s capabilities

Prototyping is becoming increasingly used for
system development where rapid development is
essential

Throw-away prototyping is used to understand the
system requirements

In evolutionary prototyping, the system is developed
by evolving an initial version to the final version
Key points

Rapid development of prototypes is essential. This
may require leaving out functionality or relaxing non-
functional constraints

Prototyping techniques include the use of very high-
level languages, database programming and prototype
construction from reusable components

Prototyping is essential for parts of the system such as
the user interface which cannot be effectively pre-
specified. Users must be involved in prototype
evaluation