ICONIX Process |
The following text is derived from the ICONIX entry in the online Wikipedia.
The ICONIX Process is a minimalist, streamlined approach to Use Case driven UML modeling that uses a core subset of UML diagrams and techniques to provide thorough coverage of object-oriented analysis and design. Its main activity is robustness analysis, a method for bridging the gap between analysis and design. Robustness analysis reduces the ambiguity in use case descriptions, by ensuring that they are written in the context of an accompanying domain model. This process makes the use cases much easier to design, test and estimate.
The ICONIC Process was developed by D. Rosenberg. For more information on the ICONIX Process, see the ICONIX Software Engineering Inc. website http://iconixsw.com/.
ICONIX Process in Enterprise Architect
Enterprise Architect enables you to develop models under the ICONIX Process quickly and simply, through use of an MDG Technology integrated with the Enterprise Architect installer. The ICONIX facilities are provided in the form of:
- ICONIX pages in the Enterprise Architect UML Toolbox
- ICONIX element and relationship entries in the UML Toolbox Shortcut Menu and Quick Linker.
To further help you develop and manage a project under the ICONIX Process, Enterprise Architect also provides a white paper on the ICONIX Roadmap.
In addition, Enterprise Architect has an alternative visual layout specific to the ICONIX Process.
ICONIX Toolbox Pages
Within the Toolbox, Enterprise Architect provides ICONIX versions of the pages for UML Analysis, Use Case, Class, Interaction (Sequence), Activity and Custom diagrams (which often form the basis for Robustness diagrams). Compared to the standard Enterprise Architect Toolbox pages, these have slightly different element and relationship sets. You can access them by either:
- Selecting the More tools | ICONIX | <Diagram Type> menu option for a specific Toolbox page, or
- Selecting the ICONIX option in the drop-down field of the Default Tools toolbar, which adds all six pages to the Toolbox. The first page and the Common page are expanded, and the others are closed up.
The ICONIX layout re-organizes the Enterprise Architect work area, opening the:
- Toolbox on the right hand side of the screen (follow the instructions above to display the ICONIX pages)
- Project Browser and Model Views windows nested in the top left of the screen
- Tasks Pane and Resources window autohidden on the top left of the screen
- Pan & Zoom, Notes and Properties windows nested on the bottom left of the screen, and
- System and Output windows autohidden on the bottom left of the screen.
To apply this layout, select the View | Visual Layouts menu option.
Disable ICONIX
If you prefer not to use the ICONIX Process in Enterprise Architect, you can disable it (and subsequently re-enable it) using the MDG Technologies dialog (Settings | MDG Technologies).
This does not affect the ICONIX layout, which you can switch back to your own layout or the Enterprise Architect default layout using the View | Visual Layouts menu option.
