Java™ Application Development on Linux - Dator

11.6 Requirements for the Budget <strong>Application</strong>271Ellen: Have you ever tried to use it?! Please! The CFO thought it lookedgreat—and on paper it did. But that user interface makes it almost impossibleto be productive. And it’s as slow as molasses. 3Bob: But back to this new application . . . I’m assuming you’ll want a GUIon this?Ellen: Of course. Give it a standard, simple GUI. Something like this.(She begins to draw on her whiteboard.)For any given department there will be a “pool” of money. Those dollarsare displayed and can be subdivided into smaller pools of money by creatingsubaccounts.But as the money is subdivided those new accounts and associated dollarsshould become visible by others. And as dollars are spent during the year, we’llwant to track those dollars, so those amounts should be visible, too, andsubtracted from the overall pool of available dollars.Bob: Wait . . . back up. What needs to be entered to subdivide anaccount?Ellen: The user just picks an account, then chooses to subdivide it, enteringthe amount to put in each account . . . or even just a percent of the largerpot of money.Bob: So if he picks one account to subdivide, does it split into two, orthree or how many?Ellen: Let the user choose, but maybe two as a default.Bob: OK, but we may need to take a harder look at that interaction.Ellen: So how long will that take? Can you have it ready by the end of thismonth?Bob: I’d like to try the “spiral” approach on this project. I can havesomething for you by the end of this week— from which you can tell me if I’mheading in the right direction. It will just be a beginning, but you’ll be able tosee something run. By the way, is this tool only for our group?Ellen: For now it is, but I could see other departments wanting to use itsome day. Who knows how far it could go?3. Remember, this is a fictional account. We are providing justification for why they can’t usethe corporate application. Anyone’s use of such a tool can be less than optimal, reflecting moreon themselves than on the value and usability of the tool.