Computer-aided software engineering

Computer-aided software engineering (CASE) refers to computer-based software tools designed to automate the various stages of the software development process of defining user requirements, conducting system analysis activities, and creating a detailed design specification for the software system under development.

There are a number of standardized CASE engineering techniques, including “structured analysis”, “structured design”, and “data modeling”, among others. CASE tools are designed to produce logically validated and documented system specifications, which in turn are used as detailed “blueprints” for the actual writing of the application software.