Serena Software is offering a new free visual design tool to help developers better understand user requirements before they begin coding.
Serena’s Prototype Composer, announced on Nov. 5, is a requirements visualization tool that enables business analysts to simulate how applications will look and function before developers begin to write code. The tool is free and can be downloaded from the company’s Web site.
Officials at Serena said users interact with the prototype as if it were the delivered application, confirming requirements with business analysts in real time.
The Serena Prototype Composer lets business analysts visually design forms and workflows that look like a real application but are just a simulation. The user can interact with the prototype and give feedback about problems and priorities.
To read about Serena’s launch of a mashup maker, click here.
“Visual models and prototypes can provide a much better blueprint for software applications than a 100-page Word doc that few people ever read,” Rene Bonvanie, senior vice president of worldwide marketing, partner programs and online services at Serena, said in a statement. “With a prototype application, you get a clear view of expected user behavior. No translation is necessary. Everyone is on the same page before development even begins.”
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