Case Tools

"CASE is an acronym that stands for Computer-Aided Software Engineering, although there are many variations of what actually CASE can stand for. In simple layman terms, CASE is a tool which aids a software engineer to maintain and develop software.Much like a mechanic who uses the aid of his/her tools to maintain and develop vehicles, but obviously using respective techniques."

CASE tools are a class of software that automates many of the activities involved in various life cycle phases. For example, when establishing the functional requirements of a proposed application, prototyping tools can be used to develop graphic models of application screens to assist end users to visualize how an application will look after development. Subsequently, system designers can use automated design tools to transform the prototyped functional requirements into detailed design documents. Programmers can then use automated code generators to convert the design documents into code. Automated tools can be used collectively, as mentioned, or individually.

Example:
prototyping tools could be used to define application requirements that get passed to design technicians who convert the requirements into detailed designs in a traditional manner using flowcharts and narrative documents, without the assistance of automated design software.