How to Design Software With CRC Cards

Use CRC Cards and Design Scenarios for object-oriented software design. Output programming specifications or export to QuickUML, MacA&D or WinA&D for UML modeling.

Automate responsibility driven design of object-oriented software with QuickCRC. Use CRC cards to discover and document classes, responsibilities, attributes and collaborations. Use agile methods or as a front end to UML.

CRC Cards

In the diagram workspace, create card and scenario objects. Each card has a class name, description, superclasses, subclasses, attributes, responsibilities and collaborating objects. Enter card information through a dialog or edit on-screen by dragging or renaming cards, attributes, responsibilities and collaborations.

Attribute Access

The software designer can assign the attribute access of each card responsibility. The tool shows an attribute access graph from the card information to help developers discover, refine and eliminate unnecessary card attributes.

Design Scenarios

A scenario object represents a design mechanism defined as a series of steps involving communicating objects. Scenarios can reference cards or other scenarios. Cards and scenarios can also reference external agents defined by the designer to identify system and user interfaces.

Model Organization

Separate card and scenario objects into different diagrams based on functional areas of a complex design. Cut and paste cards and scenarios between diagrams or projects.

Contents View

The contents view allows a designer to navigate between diagrams shown as folder icons that can be opened or closed. From the contents view, a card or scenario can be dragged between diagrams or double-clicked to edit its properties. This makes it easy to locate and modify information as the model grows.

Simulation

QuickCRC provides active simulation of an evolving design. Features include single stepping backwards, forwards or over a called scenario or jumping to a specific location in the scenario stack of a multiple scenario simulation. Its fast and easy to step through your design, just select a scenario and click the Simulate button.

Instant Synchronization

QuickCRC maintains relationships between cards, scenarios and external agents as fluid design changes take place. If a card references undefined subclasses or superclasses, those cards are generated automatically. Model other relationships between cards like aggregation and interface implementation. Name changes and cross references between objects are instantly updated.

Search and Organize

QuickCRC has a rich search feature for locating design data within specific fields of any card or scenario in the project. Card and scenario objects can be automatically arranged on the diagram based on user specified criteria to visually highlight relationships between objects.

Inheritance Graph

Show the class inheritance structure of a project with the concise inheritance graph. The graph is generated from card information regardless of how cards are physically arranged or partitioned between diagrams. Several inheritance graphs can be active for different root classes in the project to focus attention on different parts of a large design. Card properties can be viewed or edited by double-clicking its name on the inheritance graph.