Abuse Case

CRC card designs are tested by running challenging scenarios against them. A scenario so applied might be called an AbuseCase to distinguish it from the UseCase suggested by IvarJacobson.

An abuse case is an artifact of design, not requirements analysis. It starts when it needs to start and runs until the objects within a system have been shown able to withstand an abuse. An abuse case may have nothing to do with a user. PowerFailure and MemoryExhaustion are typical abuse cases as are AmbiguousInput? and ConflictingPolicy?.

• Use a UseCase to define a requirement of a system.
• Use an AbuseCase to test the flexibility of a framework.

-- WardCunningham

See TechnicalFailure

---

CategoryJargon