ISO/IEC TR 14471:1999

TECHNICAL ISO/IEC
REPORT TR 14471
First edition
1999-06-01
Information technology — Software
engineering — Guidelines for the adoption
of CASE tools
Technologies de l'information — Ingénierie du logiciel — Lignes directrices
pour l'adoption d'outils CASE
Reference number
B C
ISO/IEC TR 14471:1999(E)

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ISO/IEC TR 14471:1999(E)
Contents
1 Scope .1
2 Normative references .1
3 Terms and definitions .2
4 Symbols and abbreviated terms .2
5 Critical success factors for adoption .2
6 Overview of CASE adoption .3
6.1 Preparation process .3
6.2 Evaluation and selection process.4
6.3 Pilot project process .4
6.4 Transition process.5
7 Preparation process .5
7.1 Setting goals .6
7.2 Verifying feasibility and measurability .6
7.3 Setting policy .7
7.4 Developing a plan .7
8 Evaluation and selection process.7
9 Pilot project process .8
9.1 Pilot initiation .9
9.2 Pilot performance .10
9.3 Pilot evaluation .11
9.4 Decision for a next step .11
10 Transition process.12
10.1 Initiation for transition.13
10.2 Training.14
©  ISO/IEC 1999
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, no part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic
or mechanical, including photocopying and microfilm, without permission in writing from the publisher.
ISO/IEC Copyright Office • Case postale 56 • CH-1211 Genève 20 • Switzerland
Printed in Switzerland
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10.3 Transition to routine use. 14
10.3.1 Institutionalization. 14
10.3.2 Monitoring and continuous support. 14
10.4 Evaluation of adoption project and completion . 15
Annex A (informative) Analysis of CASE Adoption questionnaire . 16
Annex B (informative) Cross reference for adoption process and critical success factors. 18
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Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) and IEC (the International Electrotechnical Commission)
form the specialized system for worldwide standardization. National bodies that are members of ISO or IEC
participate in the development of International Standards through technical committees established by the
respective organization to deal with particular fields of technical activity. ISO and IEC technical committees
collaborate in fields of mutual interest. Other international organizations, governmental and non-governmental, in
liaison with ISO and IEC, also take part in the work.
In the field of information technology, ISO and IEC have established a joint technical committee, ISO/IEC JTC 1.
The main task of technical committees is to prepare International Standards, but in exceptional circumstances a
technical committee may propose the publication of a Technical Report of one of the following types:
— type 1, when the required support cannot be obtained for the publication of an International Standard, despite
repeated efforts;
— type 2, when the subject is still under technical development or where for any other reason there is the future
but not immediate possibility of an agreement on an International Standard;
— type 3, when a technical committee has collected data of a different kind from that which is normally published
as an International Standard (“state of the art”, for example).
Technical Reports of types 1 and 2 are subject to review within three years of publication, to decide whether they
can be transformed into International Standards. Technical Reports of type 3 do not necessarily have to be
reviewed until the data they provide are considered to be no longer valid or useful.
ISO/IEC TR 14471, which is a Technical Report of type 2, was prepared by Joint Technical Committee
ISO/IEC JTC 1, Information technology, Subcommittee SC 7, Software engineering.
Annexes A and B of this Technical Report are for information only.
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Introduction
Historically, there have been problems experienced by organizations in adopting CASE tools. Because
organizations have not gained the expected benefits of CASE technology, it is hoped that the use of a well-founded
CASE adoption process will help achieve successful adoption of CASE tools.
A survey conducted by ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 7/WG 4 offers some hope that these problems may be improving. This
survey suggests that CASE tools are performing new capabilities and getting easier to use, that users’ expectations
are getting more sophisticated, and that CASE tools are more likely to meet their goals. However, according to the
survey, there remain a number of continuing problems. There has not been sufficient attention given to pilot trials of
CASE technology before using it on actual projects, and users report a need for additional top management
support, a total process for CASE adoption, and a preparation of the organization for the introduction of the
technology. This Technical Report addresses the continued needs reported by users.
The purpose of this Technical Report is to provide a recommended practice for CASE adoption. It provides
guidance in establishing processes and activities that are to be applied for the successful adoption of CASE
technology. The use of this Technical Report will help to maximize the return and minimize the risk of investing in
CASE technology. However, this Technical Report does not establish compliance criteria.
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TECHNICAL REPORT  © ISO/IEC ISO/IEC TR 14471:1999(E)
Information technology — Software engineering — Guidelines for
the adoption of CASE tools
1 Scope
Since CASE adoption is a subject of the broader technology transition problem, this Technical Report addresses the
adoption practices appropriate for a wide range of computing organizations. Also, this Technical Report neither
dictates nor advocates particular development standards, software processes, design methods, methodologies,
techniques, programming languages, or life-cycle paradigms.
This Technical Report will:
 identify critical success factors,
 propose a set of adoption processes,
 guide successful adoption in consideration of organizational and cultural environment.
The following groups are targeted as potential audiences:
 CASE users
 information systems managers
 chief information officers (CIO)
 CASE suppliers
 software engineering consultants
 those involved in the acquisition of CASE tools and technology
This Technical Report addresses aspects of product evaluation, selection, and adoption which are specific to CASE
tools. It is complementary to related ISO/IEC documents which deal with the general aspects of these topics.
2 Normative references
The following standards contain provisions which, through reference in this text, constitute provisions of this
Technical Report. At the time of publication, the editions indicated were valid. All standards are subject to revision,
and parties to agreements based on this Technical Report are encouraged to investigate the possibility of applying
the most recent editions of the standards indicated below. Members of IEC and ISO maintain registers of currently
valid International Standards.
ISO/IEC 9126:1991, Information technology — Software product evaluation — Quality characteristics and
guidelines for their use.
ISO/IEC 12207:1995, Information technology — Software life cycle processes.
ISO/IEC 14102:1995, Information technology — Guideline for the evaluation and selection of CASE tools.
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3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this Technical Report, the following definitions apply.
3.1
Successful adoption
the extent to which the use of CASE tools can measurably meet an organization's uniquely defined adoption goals
3.2
Adoption process
the set of activities by which an organization brings CASE tools into widespread use
3.3
CASE needs
the organizational requirements which are met by CASE tool characteristics
NOTE These characteristics are detailed in Clause 9 of ISO/IEC 14102:1995. They include: management process,
development process, maintenance, documentation, configuration management, quality assurance, verification, validation,
environment needs, CASE tool integrability, quality characteristics, acquisition needs, implementation needs, support
indicators, and certification requirements.
4 Symbols and abbreviated terms
CASE Computer aided software engineering
CIO Chief information officer
CSF Critical success factor
MIS Management information system
5 Critical success factors for adoption
One of the primary goals of this Technical Report is to identify major factors which are critical to success in CASE
adoption. A comprehensive set of technical, managerial, organizational, and cultural factors should be considered in
order to successfully introduce CASE technology into an organization. These factors should be monitored through
the adoption processes when applicable. A cross reference table for the processes and the factors is provided in
Annex B.
The critical success factors include:
Goal setting: The definition of a clear, measurable set of goals and expectations for CASE adoption, including both
business and technical goals.
NOTE 1 Examples of measurable set of goals for CASE adoption might be “twenty percent increase of productivity in unit
test activity”, “sixteen percent improvement of quality in requirements specification activity”, “fifty percent gain of reusability in
object oriented design activity”, “sixty percent of projects should use CASE tools”, etc.
Management support: The extent to which high level management actively encourages CASE adoption, including
but not limited to the willingness to allocate the necessary resources.
Tool use strategy: The definition of a clear strategy for the scope of tool use.
NOTE 2 Examples of strategy might include tool use on a specific set of application types, use by a specific business
component or corporate-wide use.
Total adoption process plan: A plan and design for the total process of bringing the tool into the organizational
component.
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: The extent to which the people involved in the adoption effort become active, motivated participants.
Engagement
Methodology adjustability: The willingness and technical feasibility of adjusting, as necessary, existing
organizational methods and typical methods of using the CASE tool so as to arrive at a single consistent set of
methods.
NOTE 3 For example, existing process-oriented methods and candidate object-oriented programming tools might not be
adjusted as a single consistent set of methods.
Training: Provision of the training and information necessary and appropriate at each step for each person involved
in the adoption process.
Expert support: Provision of enthusiastic, expert tool use support during the pilot project and continuing as the tool
moves into routine use throughout the organizational component.
NOTE 4 The experts (or champions) assigned to the pilot project, as a group, should have a combination of skills, including
capability of being proponents for the new technology, experience in the tool use, experience in the process and procedures of
the organization, and influence within the organization.
Pilot project: The performance of a controlled pilot project prior to the final adoption decision.
Tool capability: The technical capability of the tool, in its hardware and software environment, to satisfy the defined
goals in the context of the intended scope.
Smooth changeover: Due consideration paid to ensuring the ability of the organization to simultaneously operate
in both the old and new methods until the entire organizational component has fully changed over to the new
methods.
6 Overview of CASE adoption
This Technical Report will describe a set of adoption processes that can be used in a broad range of environments,
where the definition of success can be tailored to the organization. Successful CASE adoption requires more than
casual adoption activities. This section shows the major processes for adoption and the overview of the processes
as shown in Figure 1. Adoption of CASE tools includes four major processes:
a) Preparation process
b) Evaluation and selection process
c) Pilot project process
d) Transition process
6.1 Preparation process
The purpose of the preparation process is to establish the general objectives and goals of the CASE adoption effort,
to establish the high level direction, and to define the management aspects of the effort (e.g., schedule, resources,
cost).
The preparation process is composed of four activities:
a) Setting goals: identifies CASE adoption goals where CASE can help meet business objectives.
b) Verifying feasibility and measurability: develops and verifies technically and economically feasible and
measurable subgoals for a CASE adoption project.
c) Setting policy: provides the rationale and general policy for adoption of CASE tools incorporating the critical
success factors.
d) Developing a plan: produces a plan for the entire adoption project.
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Project
Preparation
goals
Project
plan
Evaluation and
selection
Evaluation
Pilot project
report
Selection
report
Legen d
  Process
Transition
Product
Process Flow
 Project
evaluation
  report
Data Flow
Figure 1 — Overview of CASE adoption process
6.2 Evaluation and selection process
The purpose of the evaluation and selection process is to identify the most suitable CASE tool(s) among the
candidate tools, and to ensure that the recommended tool(s) meets the original goals.
The evaluation and selection process is fully defined in ISO/IEC 14102:1995, and is composed of:
a) Initiation: defines the objectives and requirements of the intended evaluation and selection of CASE tools.
b) Structuring: elaborates a set of structured requirements based upon the CASE tool characteristics of Clause 9
in ISO/IEC 14102:1995.
c) Evaluation: produces technical evaluation reports that will be the major input for the selection sub process.
d) Selection: identifies the most suitable CASE tool(s) among the candidate tools.
6.3 Pilot project process
The purpose of the Pilot project process is to aid in validating the work performed in the earlier processes of CASE
adoption process and to determine if the actual capability of the tool meets the organizational needs.
The Pilot project process is composed of four activities:
a) Pilot initiation: defines plans, procedures, resources, and training to perform a pilot project.
b) Pilot performance: executes a controlled project in which the newly acquired CASE tools can be tried out.
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c) : provides the evaluation results of the performance of the pilot project.
Pilot evaluation
d) Decision for a next step: decides whether to go ahead with the adoption process, abandon the tool or perform
a second pilot project, and identify organizational learning experience for the transition process.
6.4 Transition process
The purpose of the transition process is to minimize disruptions during the changeover from the current processes
to new technology based on the maximum use of the pilot project experiences.
The transition process is composed of five activities:
a) Initiation for transition: defines plans, procedures, and resources to perform transition and outlines, use of
the tool.
b) Training: trains new CASE tool users.
c) Institutionalization: progressively applies the tool to larger segments of the target environment until its use
becomes part of normal organizational practice.
d) Monitoring and continuous support: identifies whether the adoption is in fact working, and ensures on-going
training and other resources as needed during the transition period.
e) Evaluation of adoption project and completion: measures the success of CASE adoption, and provides
organizational learning experience for future adoption projects.
7 Preparation process
The first process in a CASE adoption effort is the preparation of CASE adoption goals and the project plan. Four
major activities in the preparation process are:
a) Setting goals,
b) Verifying feasibility and measurability,
c) Setting policy,
d) Developing a plan.
Starting with the review of business objectives, CASE adoption goals will be defined and validated. A business
objective is a higher level objective (e.g., improve competitive position of the organization, increase productivity),
which is not tied to any specific software engineering life-cycle objective. However, business objectives should be
used to derive core (possibly alternate) sets of CASE adoption goals (e.g., improve process, improve design
quality). These goals are related to software engineering life-cycle processes to ensure the effectiveness of the
organizational functions and performances.
The activity of verifying feasibility and measurability examines the conformance of the business and CASE adoption
objectives and it assesses technical and economic validity.
The activity of setting policy develops the direction for the remainder of the adoption process. In this activity, the
critical success factors defined in Clause 5 should be tailored for a specific CASE adoption effort. Finally, the last
activity in the preparation process is to organize a plan for the total process of bringing the tool into the
organizational component. The overview of the preparation process is shown in Figure 2.
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Business
Setting goals
objectives
CASE
Verifying feasibility
adoption
and measurability
goals
CSFs
Setting policy
Legend
Activity
Developing a plan
Product
Activity Flow
Project
plan
Data Flow
Figure 2 — Overview of preparation process
7.1 Setting goals
This activity includes the following tasks:
a) Review (existing) business objectives.
b) Review strategic impact of software engineering in the organization or in the organizational component.
c) Decompose business objectives to the level of the strategic impact of software engineering.
d) Identify several alternatives by which CASE can help meet business objectives.
e) Ask “Where do we want to go ?”.
f) Select and set CASE adoption goals from the alternatives.
g) Define and quantify the expectations of the CASE adoption effort based upon the goals.
7.2 Verifying feasibility and measurability
This activity includes the following tasks:
a) Develop technically and economically feasible and measurable subgoals.
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b) Perform competitor analysis (e.g., What technology are they using?).
c) Perform technical analysis (e.g., Is it technically achievable?).
d) Assess the organization’s current software engineering capability and maturity level.
e) Review current and near-term CASE state-of-the-practice.
f) Identify potential tools.
g) Ask again, "Where do we want to go?" (In a more precise way).
h) Identify specific subgoals and measures for them.
7.3 Setting policy
This activity includes the following tasks:
a) Ask "How can we achieve the CASE adoption goals?".
b) Identify the strategic roadmap of the adoption project.
c) Tailor the CSFs to meet business objectives and CASE adoption goals.
d) Provide a guide for the availability of resources (e.g., manpower, money, support).
e) Set a guide for monitoring and controlling the project.
7.4 Developing a plan
This activity includes the following tasks:
a) Organize a project team with assigned responsibilities.
b) Develop a set of steps to apply the CSFs in the appropriate process under the decided policies.
c) Identify a set of operational guidelines for the whole adoption process based upon the policies previously
established.
d) Prepare a schedule of milestones, activities and their tasks, along with an estimate of resource requirements
and a cost estimate.
e) Provide a means of monitoring and controlling the execution of the plan.
8 Evaluation and selection process
This section provides an overview of the evaluation and selection of CASE tools discussed in ISO/IEC 14102:1995
as shown in Figure 3. Evaluation and selection of CASE tools includes four major sub processes (activities):
a) Initiation sub process,
b) Structuring sub process,
c) Evaluation sub process,
d) Selection sub process.
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Selection
Initiation
Goals
Selection
Criteria
Structuring
Evaluation
Plan
Evaluation
Structured
Report
Requirement
List of
Evaluation
Candidates
Legend
Selection Activity
Product
Activity Flow
Selection
Recommendation
Data Flow
Figure 3 — Overview of evaluation and selection
A key step is the structuring of a set of requirements against which candidate CASE tools are to be evaluated, and
upon which selection decisions will be based. The CASE tool characteristics defined in Clause 9 of
ISO/IEC 14102:1995 form the basis for requirements structuring, and play a central role in the overall steps of the
evaluation and selection process. In order to pursue this process for successful adoption, the steps in
ISO/IEC 14102:1995 should be applied.
9 Pilot project process
A pilot project process should be conducted to provide a realistic trial for the CASE tools in their intended
environment. While the tool was exercised during evaluation and selection, that process does not require a realistic
use of the tool. Evaluation and selection identifies the tool among the candidates with the most potential for the
organization. The pilot project aims to be sure it can really perform for the organization in a real application.
The pilot will be typical of those used by the organization, and will incorporate many of the features of the
development projects for which the tool is intended. Staffing size should be typical for the project size. The
personnel should be motivated problem solvers. At least one member of the team should have leadership qualities
and have the respect of the technical staff. The pilot will be structured in order to objectively validate goals and
strategies. However, it will be of limited scope and risk, and the duration of the project should be relatively short.
The purposes of the pilot are to:
a) validate that the tool in actual use can meet the general goals of the CASE adoption effort as well as any
specific goals established for the pilot,
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b) validate the evaluation and selection efforts and the experience and information gained during these efforts,
c) determine whether the tool meets the performance goals required, and whether it is appropriate for use within
the organization,
d) estimate the costs and benefits of the tool in a full production environment,
e) identify the appropriate scope of use within the organization,
f) determine any necessary modifications to existing methods based on the use of the tool,
g) gather the information necessary to assist in the development of a transition plan (see Clause 10),
h) develop in-house experience in all aspects of the use of the tool,
i) provide data required to make an adoption decision.
Specific criteria are established to measure how well the tool meets user needs. An important function of the pilot is
to act as a decision point during which the organization can affirm or reject the decision to purchase the tool.
Failure of a pilot to meet expectations provides a crucial piece of information that allows an organization to avoid
much wider and more expensive failures, since a pilot usually involves the purchase of fewer copies of the tool and
the training of fewer people. As shown in Figure 4, the activities to be performed during the pilot project process
include:
1. Pilot initiation,
2. Pilot performance,
3. Pilot evaluation,
4. Decision for a next step.
9.1 Pilot initiation
This activity includes the following tasks:
a) Define the objectives of the pilot project based upon the selection report and CASE adoption goals.
b) Determine the pilot project characteristics. These should include domain and scope of verification, size of the
project, representativeness and scalability of the project, project duration based upon the project objectives,
criticality and risks involved, and resources constraints (e.g., manpower, money, time).
c) Identify evaluation criteria and metrics to be used to determine whether to go ahead with the adoption process,
to abandon the tool, or to perform a second pilot project. Sample criteria could include goal achievability, tool
capability, and methodology adjustability.
d) Identify and plan for the resources necessary for completion of all aspects of the pilot project. Resources
identified should include personnel, hardware, related software, expert support, management support, and
funding.
e) Acquire the CASE tool(s) based upon the selection decision, install it in the production environment, and
customize it to the degree necessary for the pilot effort.
f) Define the procedures, standards, and conventions which will govern the use of the tools during the pilot
project. Where the organization has existing procedures, standards, and conventions, they should be tailored
for the pilot project.
g) Identify the types and quality of training necessary for the pilot project. This should provide input and be
coordinated with the long term training plan to be developed as part of transitioning of the tool to routine use.
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Pilot
initiation
Pilot
project
Pilot
plan
evaluation
guide
Selection
P
...