Glover Ferguson of Anderson Consulting has suggested that CASE has been the victim of hype, disappointing clients expecting something magical. Although first results might not have lived up to all expectations, the appearance of new tools providing customer-server solutions meant that software engineering would survive, Ferguson told Computerworld Espana at a Spanish seminar on CASE. Suppliers incapable of developing technology along these lines would disappear from the marketplace though, he added. Those users valuing an apprenticeship with software engineering had benefited most in terms of productivity, but needed to change their approach, addressing the over-emphasis on analysis and design, rather than simple implementation, which had caused the initial frustration, said Ferguson. He pointed out that Anderson Consulting’s approach to CASE tools involved going for large units that guaranteed the maintenance of control systems and he highlighted the advantage of elements usable across different applications. He saw four current trends in CASE: client-server architecture; object-oriented developments; multiple applications and full use of repository. If Anderson Consulting appeared to be holding back on object orientation, Ferguson explained, it is because users are still pre-occupied with fathoming out and adapting client-server systems.
