Rational Unified Process for User Interface Design

Rational Unified Process forRational Unified Process for User Interface Designg

Rajendra AkerkarRajendra Akerkar

R. Akerkar SE 160, 2005 1

What Is the Rational Unified Process?

The Rational Unified Process provides aThe Rational Unified Process provides a disciplined approach to assigning tasks and responsibilities within a development

i iorganization.

Its goal is to ensure the production of high-quality product that meets the needs of its end users within a predictable schedule andend-users, within a predictable schedule and budget.


The RUP Framework

RUP = making a movie ≠ building a house RUP making a movie, ≠ building a house. sheer size.

hundreds of artifacts and activities involved hundreds of artifacts and activities involved. RUP® framework is actually easy, particularly

h th ' i t d d b l twhen they're introduced by analogy to some familiar process.


The trouble with the construction analogy

RUP is so often compared to the process of t ti b ildiconstructing a building.

it's about producing something concrete using a similar role set and vocabularysimilar role set and vocabulary.

As with an interactive system, fi t h th f d ti d (th i f ti first have the foundation ready (the information architecture in the our case) before building the walls and the roof.walls and the roof.


The trouble with the construction analogy

information architect deals with problems information architect deals with problems such as the internal workings of a interactive system. y

The house architect is more concerned about visual and functional design,visual and functional design, which pretty much equals the concerns of a

system analyst in the software world.


The trouble with the construction analogy The main objection to

comparing the two is that the building process can be a totally predictable waterfall process,

while a UI development process can't!

the fact is that civil the fact is that civil engineering relies on a number of well-known physical laws of nature andphysical laws of nature, and again, UI design doesn't!


A better analogy to the RUP framework

The RUP does share the basic goals and The RUP does share the basic goals and strategies of engineering processes.

The actual process to achieve those goals creative approach required by artistic disciplines creative approach required by artistic disciplines

making movies, authoring books, or g , even writing an article.


The essential principles of the RUP

RUP is based on common sense RUP is based on common sense, harvested from the best practices of numerous

successful projects. p j

Interesting fact is that similar practices exist Interesting fact is that similar practices exist in areas other than UI development.


The essential principles of the RUP

The RUP is used to mitigate the risks The RUP is used to mitigate the risks associated with software/UI development.

By conforming to a well-defined and proven set of rules we aim to increase theset of rules, we aim to increase the probability of a successful result.

Why would we bother with the extra effort?


The general risks associated with UI development

lack of resources for carrying out the project insufficient funding g not enough time and too much to do immature, slow, or non-agile organizations

These risks are the same as for any other type of development.

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Agile Approach Novel approach to development based on the

development and delivery of very small increments f f i liof functionality.

Based on Values of simplicity, communication, feedback and courage.g

Relies on constant code improvement, user involvement in the development team and pairwise programmingprogramming

Two crucial design heuristics never duplicate code use simplest design possible use simplest design possible

Continuous Testing Write the tests before we design the code

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The technical risks associated with UI development

U k t h l i Unknown technologies. Undiscovered requirements. Complicated architecture.

These risks are associated with unpredictable nature of UI development.p

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The RUP strategy for handing risk

Develop iteratively. p y Manage requirements. Use a component architecture Use a component architecture. Model visually.

Continuously verify quality Continuously verify quality. Manage change.

The RUP gives us these primary strategies for handling such technical nature risks (the best practices of the RUP).

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Develop iteratively

Creating something innovative, whether a motion picture or UI requires many iterations to bepicture or UI, requires many iterations to be performed on the same artifacts during the discovery process of building the final product.

With a waterfall development strategy, projects cycle through the various phases in a sequential manner,

t i f t ti ith t ti l blpostponing confrontation with potential problems until the product has been built and tested.

Iterative development on the other hand allows Iterative development, on the other hand, allows projects to proceed by small steps, or increments, to gradually build a more complete system.

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The RUP's iterative development process Each iteration in the RUP is a pass

through the disciplinesthrough the disciplines.

A discipline in the RUP can be described as a grouping of interrelated activities and the artifacts oractivities and the artifacts or deliverables they produce.

Each pass, which is like a mini waterfall, explores a new portion of the p prequirements set and offers a chance to correct defects and rework the result of the previous iteration.

With h it ti th l ti i With each iteration, the solution is coming closer and closer to the final product.

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Analogy of Moviemaking If making a movie is a pretty straightforward

process of first writing a script then figuringprocess of first writing a script, then figuring out how to put the words into motion, doing the filming and editing, and finally watching g g y gthe result.

This would be a traditional waterfall approach.

But just as the waterfall approach fails when ' iti UI it ld f il i kiwe're writing UI, it would fail in making a

movie as well.

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Analogy of Moviemaking Instead, the process is much more iterative. The actors start working with the script, and revisions The actors start working with the script, and revisions

arise out of that interaction. For example, the script for the blockbuster Lord of the

Rings based on J R R Tolkien's classic masterpieceRings, based on J.R.R. Tolkien s classic masterpiece, was rewritten almost every day after interaction with the actors.Di t P t J k d ib d th ti Director Peter Jackson described the creative process as a controlled chaos.

Before the end of the project, the script had been rewritten many times. Each time (or iteration) resulted in an incremented (and better) version that more closely resembled the final version.

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Manage requirements

Another essential task whenever a new d t f ki d i d l d i iproduct of any kind is developed is ensuring

that it meets the needs of its intended users. Troublesome task - users sometimes have

only a vague idea of the product under d l tdevelopment.

An active requirements management strategy it ti l i th i t i tcan iteratively improve the requirements into

something that will satisfy users.

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Manage requirements The RUP enforces requirements management

throughout the lifecyclethroughout the lifecycle. The requirements are iteratively and incrementally

identified, documented, evaluated, and refined. , , , Functional requirements are described in terms of

use cases. Nonfunctional requirements are also identified and

managed. These are properties of the system that aren't described as use cases These are properties of the system that aren t described as use cases but usually have a great impact on them, involving the system's usability, reliability, performance, and supportability.

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Analogy of Moviemaking

As moviemakers work with the script and the actors, they must think in terms of meeting the needs ofthey must think in terms of meeting the needs of their audience. What kind of emotional response do they want the movie to p y

evoke? What kind of experience do they want the audience to

have?have? Where do they want the story to take viewers?

The movie script is fine-tuned through many p g yiterations to match the director's vision of meeting these functional requirements.

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Analogy of Moviemaking If the functional requirements of a UI product have

their counterpart in movies, then can a movie also h f ti l i t ?have nonfunctional requirements? The answer (not surprisingly) is yes. Maybe the movie must be viewable by children under 18 and

no longer than 120 minutesno longer than 120 minutes.

Although these requirements aren't directly related to th t li th 'll h i t th fi l ltthe story line, they'll have an impact on the final result - just as nonfunctional software requirements must have on a computer system. I th th i t t b In the same way, these requirements must be identified and addressed in the process of making the movie.

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Use a component architecture

A component is a replaceable piece of UI that fulfills a clear function.

The RUP encourages the use of components to assemble a system.

Component-based development has advantages: Component based development has advantages: it facilitates reuse both within the system and by other

systems, it provides a convenient abstraction in the system design, it provides a convenient abstraction in the system design,

and it enables efficient parallel development.

Furthermore, a well-structured component-based Furthermore, a well structured component based architecture makes a system more scalable and easier to maintain.

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Use a component architecture( Analogy to Moviemaking)

The most obvious equivalent of a component The most obvious equivalent of a component in a movie is a scene.

A film is typically made up of a number of A film is typically made up of a number of scenes unified in a coherent structure that realizes the director's vision.realizes the director s vision.

Each scene is fully replaceable, meaning that it's possible to replace it alter it or evenit s possible to replace it, alter it, or even remove it without compromising the whole picture (if that's what the director wants).

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p ( )


Developing a computer application of considerable size without using a component-based architecture, something that's still done today,

It is like shooting a movie in only one take. This is how the 2002 drama Russian Ark by Aleksandr Sokurov

was made - the whole movie (2 hours, 16 minutes) is one continuous shot.

Given that it's pretty hard to make even a ten minute continuous Given that it s pretty hard to make even a ten-minute continuous scene, Sokurov's achievement is truly heroic.

Going back to the UI design world the RUP principle of Going back to the UI design world, the RUP principle of component-based architecture relieves developers of the need to be heroes on impossible quests.

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Another movie equivalent to software components is: In making the computer-animated adventure Finding Nemo, The modelers were challenged with the task of creating natural-

looking surging and swelling water. (under water story)

The problem was not only to accurately simulate the movement of water, but also to capture how light refracts through it, the way particles dance around, the colors of different types of water, and so on.

This had never been achieved to that extent before in computer animation.

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As soon as the project was launched, the design department t t d i ti ith t d listarted experimenting with water modeling. Extensive studies, consulted experts on oceanography, made

sketches and drawings, and most important of all, made prototypes based on their increasing knowledge of the problemprototypes based on their increasing knowledge of the problem.

The prototypes were then exposed to the director's critical eye. Then the final result of the hard labor was a design template

covering every conceivable water simulation in the moviecovering every conceivable water simulation in the movie. This template was a fundamental component of the film's

architecture; other components (templates) resolved different problems such other components (templates) resolved different problems, such

as the motion patterns of fish and plants.

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In the kingdom of UI development

design templates tell designers how to deal design templates tell designers how to deal with the most significant problems.

Without a solid architecture or design Without a solid architecture, or design template, there really isn't much point in moving on in the project.moving on in the project.

Until these kinds of issues can be resolved, designers will never be able to meet thedesigners will never be able to meet the requirements.

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Model visually A model is a simplified representation of a real-world

entity or process intended to help us imagine andentity or process, intended to help us imagine and flesh out the real-world version.

At some point early in the development of UI fsoftware, there's a need to understand the

interaction between the system and its users. The developers have two options: The developers have two options:

they can implement the software as they guess it should work, or they can create a model of it which can then be exposed to they can create a model of it, which can then be exposed to potential users, designers, and testers, whose feedback can in turn alter the model.

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Model visually This type of model, describing how a user interacts

with the system is usually referred to as a use casewith the system, is usually referred to as a use casemodel.

The point of creating use case models is to mitigate p g gthe risk of building the wrong system.

Modeling is theoretical exercise to understand complex system behavior by simplification.

The RUP encourages architecture teams to prove their architectural concepts by executing prototypestheir architectural concepts by executing prototypes.

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Model visually (Analogy to Moviemaking)

In the early stages of a movie project, all that exists is a script. But just as in the software case, the director needs to see the product

before it's completed. As with the RUP, the solution is to build a model of the story. This is known in the film industry as visualization, and it can be

achieved by various techniques: traditional actor acting, traditional actor acting, puppet acting, storyboarding, and even 3D computer graphics.If t b di ( t th t l i t i th RUP) i d th If storyboarding (a concept that also exists in the RUP) is used, the model consists of a sequential series of sketches illustrating stages or scenes.

From the storyboards, the director can decide if a scene seems too long or should be removed or if something is missinglong or should be removed, or if something is missing.

The storyboards can be filmed and edited, and temporary sound effects and music can be added, just to further enhance the model's usefulness.

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Continuously verify quality

The RUP is divided into four phases, each one focusing on a certain aspect of the development g p pcycle: Inception,

Elaboration Elaboration, Construction, and Transition.

In each of these phases the RUP best practices give us the opportunity to verify the progress and quality of the project under development and thus to findof the project under development and thus to find flaws and potential improvements as early as possible.

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Continuously verify quality

In the Inception phase, the focus is on understanding the objectives of the projectunderstanding the objectives of the project.

The question to be answered before the end of this phase is whether the project is worthof this phase is whether the project is worth doing at all.

Once the project has a go to continue, it Once the project has a go to continue, it enters the Elaboration phase. Here, the focus is on establishing a solid design

foundation (the architecture) and mitigating the major risks of the project.

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Continuously verify quality(Analogy to Moviemaking)

In the RUP, the quality of the latest increment is verified in every iteration.

In a movie project, the director primarily uses the modeling tools in his or her toolbox to catch problems with a diverging story line, scenes that don't fit together, or a tempo (rhythm) that just isn't right.

When problems are found early, it's easier to do something about them.

In moviemaking as in UI development the general rule is that the In moviemaking as in UI development, the general rule is that the earlier a fault is discovered, the cheaper it is to fix.

The best practice of continuously verifying quality can facilitate this

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this.

Manage change

change is necessary but inconvenient. Requirements will almost inevitably change

over time. waterfall development so often fails is that it's

unable to handle change. An iterative and incremental methodology, by

contrast, facilitates continuous change, it ti t d b tt l tiiterating toward a better solution.

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Manage Change (Analogy to Moviemaking)

Making a feature film: a huge crew and a substantial budget. Communicating well about needed changes is vital to the success of

such a projectsuch a project. Imagine that the director wants to improve the final scene.

Although it comes at the end of the movie, the need for improvement b id ifi d l i li i i l ifi d llcan be identified early since quality is continuously verified on all

levels. Do the screenwriters have to update the script? Who will review and approve it? pp Does the scene have to be modeled again? If so, will storyboards, 3D graphics, or plastic models be used? Does the set need to be modified, or does a new set need to be built? How

does this affect our budget? g Do we have to ask for more time and money?

These are the kinds of questions that result in changing plans and therefore must be addressed preferably in an iterative manner

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therefore must be addressed, preferably in an iterative manner.

A movie project plan

One of the key artifacts in the RUP framework is the project planframework is the project plan.

The project plan details the tasks, schedule, cost resources milestones and deliverablescost, resources, milestones, and deliverables needed to complete the project.

Progress is tracked against the plan and Progress is tracked against the plan and measured by work completed by milestones reached and results delivered.

The plan is conceived early in the project and frequently updated throughout the lifecycle.

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The Iterative Model graph of RUP

The horizontal axis represents time andrepresents time and shows the dynamic aspect of the process as it is enacted, and it is expressed in terms ofexpressed in terms of cycles, phases, iterations, and milestones.

The vertical axis represents the static aspect of the process: p phow it is described in terms of activities, artifacts, workers and workflows.

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A movie project plan = a User Interface development project

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A movie project plan = a User Interface development project In this figure, activities related to making a movie are substituted

for the RUP disciplines. Developing the screenplay is analogous to writing requirements, filming corresponds to implementation, and producing the movie is more or less like project management.

Dividing the timeline into four phases puts the focus on different g p paspects of the movie project at different times.

We also see that the activities run in parallel, typically exchanging information and work packages in a highly efficient,

fcross-functional manner: just as the RUP.

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The Essentials of RUP In all projects, it is important to explore what will

happen if any of these essentials is ignored.

For example:1. No vision? You may lose track of where you are going.2. No plan? You will not be able to track progress.3. No risk list? You may be focusing on the wrong issues

now.N i li ? With t t bilit th th4. No issues list? Without accountability, these are the roadblocks to success.

5. No architecture? You may be unable to handle communication synchronization and data access issuescommunication, synchronization, and data access issues as they arise.

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The Essentials of RUP6. No product (prototype)? Get started writing code; get

something working in front of the customerssomething working in front of the customers.7. No evaluation? Don’t keep your head in the sand. It is

important to face the truth. How close are you really to your deadline? To your goals in quality or budget?deadline? To your goals in quality or budget?

8. No change requests? How do you keep track of these?9. No user support? What happens when a user has a pp pp

question or can’t figure out how to use the product?

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References

Rational Unified Process, version 5.5, Rational Software Corporation, Cupertino, CA (1999)

Introduction to the IBM Rational Unified Process Essentials, an article by Mats Wessberg (2005).

Philippe Kruchten, The Rational Unified Process—An Philippe Kruchten, The Rational Unified Process An Introduction, Addison-Wesley-Longman, Reading, MA (1999)

Ivar Jacobson, Grady Booch, Jim Rumbaugh, The Unified Software Development Process Addison Wesley (1999)Software Development Process, Addison-Wesley (1999)

Grady Booch, et al., UML User’s Guide, Addison-Wesley-Longman, Reading, MA (1999).

Stefan Bergstrand, Adopting the Rational Unified Process: Success with the RUP, Addison Wesley (2004).

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Rational Unified Process for User Interface Design

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