When the reserved vehicle is not available due to late returns, the customer is informed of the situation and told about the other vehicle types that are available. The customer is offered an incentive to accept another vehicle type. If the customer is not satisfied, the reservation is cancelled without penalty charges. The customer either accepts another vehicle type or cancels the reservation. And so on. From such a list of functional requirements, the elements that need to be present in the API should become readily apparent.
Sign up to join this community. The best answers are voted up and rise to the top. Stack Overflow for Teams — Collaborate and share knowledge with a private group. Create a free Team What is Teams? Learn more. Difference between functional and technical specification [duplicate] Ask Question. Asked 8 years, 7 months ago. Active 8 years, 7 months ago. Viewed 90k times. This is why It is important for the two parties to work closely together at this stage. In this section, it is important to put the software to build in its context.
Here, we address the reason why the product needs to be built, who is going to use it, what it should or should not do sometimes it is helpful and necessary to mention what we should not expect from the software. Sometimes, some terms are specific to the business, and their mention in the systems requirements document is important to understand the specification and to build the software.
It is essential to define these technical terms so that the content can be understood. At the end of the introduction part, we can include a brief overview of the document to give the readers an idea of what they can expect from the system requirements document.
It is also important to mention in the SRS all the documents that can be read to have a further understanding of the system, and all references should be documented as well. A general description: in the description section, it is important to explain the different functionalities of the application. In this part, the hardware interfaces and user interfaces are defined. In what device the end users expect to access the application for instance or what are the functionalities, how can users expect to see them in the application, what is displayed on the menus, what are the other parts like Reports, exports, etc.?
Specific requirements: In this section, all the necessary details are described so that it is made easier to design the product and validate it according to requirements. Here, it is important to describe all inputs the software handle and all the outputs to better define interaction with other systems and facilitate integration.
The functionalities enumerated in the previous section will be detailed here. The performance criteria need to be defined here as well. It may be tempting to leave for later some parts of the documentation that may change during the development process or at a later stage. However, it is important to thoroughly document the SRS and update the content if needed and when needed.
References: it may sound obvious now that we mention it but it is important to include information about the content so that it is easier to find the information when needed. Incomplete dictionary: An SRS may include jargon that only people familiar with the business can understand. A requirement specification aims to give everyone involved in the development a better understanding of what the software does etc.
Before using them, it is important to define them, even better have them at one place so that readers can find them quickly when needed Mixing concepts: it may be tempting to throw all information we have at the same place, but that leads to poor documentation. Include development instruction: it is important to separate software requirements from technical implementation. The product owners know better their needs and the development team knows better how to develop the product that meets these needs.
Passive action: it is important to know what to expect from the software, but it is as important to understand who is going to interact with it to have the expected result. For instance: reports are generated by clicking on a given button. It is important to know that we expect the report generation from the software, but it is also important to know who is going to click on the button to generate the report.
Ambiguous and incomplete documentation: sometimes some requirement lines may lead to several interpretations. Also, for each functionality or situation described in the SRS, it is important that the SRS does not present aspects that are not determined yet. When a coder holds the Tech Specs in their hand, they already know what the project is all about.
The next thing you have to do is just to answer some of the questions that might have appeared — and the rest you just talk about the weather.
Because by then, the Tech Specs would have taken care of the rest. This process makes you independent from the programmer. You can also bring in new coders into the project. Conclusion Who does not want a web or software project that has few obstacles, less communication channels, costs less, is not based on compromises, and also provides an ideal result?
What seems like an impossibility can be realized through technical specifications. The ability to create Tech Specs requires years of software engineering knowledge. Mostly in small organizations like smaller web or software development agencies, Tech Specs tend not to be used.
Every web or software project at blue media, no matter how small, is always supervised with Tech Specs. After more than 22 years of software development, we have some knowledge in our repertoire that sets us apart from other providers. He has been involved in developing custom SEO tools, large website and software projects. He is the founder of blue media. Image Sliders can be quite hurtful for your SEO and the overall user experience.
Read why Image Sliders are extinct as of Have questions? Full Name. William Sen CEO and founder of blue media. Your comment will be published after being reviewed by moderators. Thank you. Latest Blog Posts. Ready to boost your leads? Technical specs have immense benefits to everyone involved in a project: the engineers who write them, the teams that use them, even the projects that are designed off of them.
Here are some reasons why you should write one. By writing a technical spec, engineers are forced to examine a problem before going straight into code, where they may overlook some aspect of the solution.
Technical specs, because they are a thorough view of the proposed solution, they also serve as documentation for the project, both for the implementation phase and after, to communicate your accomplishments on the project. With this well-thought out solution, your technical spec saves you from repeatedly explaining your design to multiple teammates and stakeholders.
They may catch exceptional cases of the solution that you may have neglected, reducing your liability. The more eyes you have on your spec, the better. A technical spec is a straightforward and efficient way to communicate project design ideas between a team and other stakeholders.
The whole team can collaboratively solve a problem and create a solution. As more teammates and stakeholders contribute to a spec, it makes them more invested in the project and encourages them to take ownership and responsibility for it.
With everyone on the same page, it limits complications that may arise from overlapping work. Newer teammates unfamiliar with the project can onboard themselves and contribute to the implementation earlier.
Investing in a technical spec ultimately results in a superior product. Since the team is aligned and in agreement on what needs to be done through the spec, big projects can progress faster.
A spec is essential in managing complexity and preventing scope and feature creep by setting project limits. It sets priorities thereby making sure that only the most impactful and urgent parts of a project go out first. Post implementation, it helps resolve problems that cropped up within the project, as well as provide insight in retrospectives and postmortems. The best planned specs serve as a great guide for measuring success and return on investment of engineering time.
Gather the existing information in the problem domain before getting started. With this knowledge of the problem history, try to state the problem in detail and brainstorm all kinds of solutions you may think might resolve it. Pick the most reasonable solution out of all the options you have come up with. Invite them to a meeting and explain the problem and the solution you picked. Lay out your ideas and thought process and try to persuade them that your solution is the most appropriate.
Gather their feedback and ask them to be a reviewer for your technical spec. Block off time in your calendar to write the first draft of the technical spec. Usea collaborative document editor that your whole team has access to. Get a technical spec template see below and write a rough draft. There are a wide range of problems being solved by a vast number of companies today.
Each organization is distinct and creates its own unique engineering culture. As a result, technical specs may not be standard even within companies, divisions, teams, and even among engineers on the same team. Every solution has different needs and you should tailor your technical spec based on the project. You do not need to include all the sections mentioned below. Select the sections that work for your design and forego the rest. From my experience, there are seven essential parts of a technical spec: front matter, introduction, solutions, further considerations, success evaluation, work, deliberation, and end matter.
Go through your draft as if you were an independent reviewer. Ask yourself what parts of the design are unclear and you are uncertain about. Modify your draft to include these issues.
Review the draft a second time as if you were tasked to implement the design just based on the technical spec alone. Make sure the spec is a clear enough implementation guideline that the team can work on if you are unavailable.
If you have doubts about the solution and would like to test it out just to make sure it works, create a simple prototype to prove your concept. Address all comments, questions, and suggestions as soon as possible. Set deadlines to do this for every issue. Schedule meetings to talk through issues that the team is divided on or is having unusually lengthy discussions about on the document.
If the team fails to agree on an issue even after having in-person meetings to hash them out, make the final call on it as the buck stops with you. Update the document with any changes in the design, schedule, work estimates, scope, etc.
Writing test specs can be an impactful way to guarantee that your project will be successful. A little planning and a little forethought can make the actual implementation of a project a whole lot easier.
Great article. It summarized all the reasearch I had to do months ago in a single page! It will help a lot. I had the same exact frustrating problem earlier. Having a template definitely helps out a bunch. I am a civil engineer and you just helped a great deal. Some people cannot explain the thought process behind their good writing so it is difficult to learn from them.
Thank you. Can I translate this article, please? I am the editor of InfoQ China. I think your article, is really great and will help Chinese readers learn how to write technical specifications. By the way, InfoQ China is a formal media organization, we strictly follow copyright requirements, and all translations we publish will include the original information.
I respect your opinion and abandon the plan to translate.
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