Allen comments on current structured methods of requirements definition for data processing applications. The basic concepts of these methods, including dataflow diagrams, entity-relationship diagrams, and state transition diagrams, are defined, and adequate examples are provided, so the book is self-contained. The intended audience, however, is practicing analysts to whom these tools are already familiar. The author’s objective is to draw on his own experience using structured methods and to “produce a compendium of what has worked and what has not worked.”

The book is divided into six parts, entitled “Introduction,” “The System Perspective,” “The Strategic Perspective,” “The Enterprise Perspective,” “The User Perspective,” and “The CASE Perspective.” The first two parts are a review of basic structured analysis techniques. The remaining parts discuss the application of structured methods from various points of view.

In Part 3, the author discusses information as a corporate asset and the importance of supporting business objectives and integration with general business activities. The emphasis is on global modeling, extending the analysis beyond the boundaries of the system to be developed.

Part 4 further elaborates this view, emphasizing business-wide data dictionaries and data administration. Part 5 advocates prototyping in general and distinguishes user-interface prototyping from technical prototyping (that is, benchmarking), event prototyping, and decision support prototyping. Part 6 discusses the benefits and pitfalls of the use of CASE tools.

The book includes three examples, each of which is described in an appendix containing background information, a system overview, and requirements specification including data dictionary, diagrams, and process descriptions. These examples are frequently referred to in the text to illustrate concepts. A glossary, including a list of standard symbols, is provided. A list of acronyms would have been helpful.