Process Integration

The Rational Unified Process defines flows of information, transformations, guidelines, heuristics, and formal traceability links that tie these artifacts to other software development activities and artifacts. For example, the requirements artifact may be tied upstream in the process to a business model, constructed also using object-oriented technology and business use cases, and downstream to such artifacts as an analysis model or a design model, as well as to test cases and user documentation (see Figure E-2).

Software engineering tools support many of the best practices presented in the Rational Unified Process ”from requirements management and visual modeling to report generation, configuration management, and automated testing. Tool mentors are also included, which provide detailed descriptions on how Rational's software tools can be used to support particular steps and activities within the process.