7.4 Target Specification

   

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The target specification documents how the system will be produced, and what technology will be employed. It's usually quite short, but no less important. This should detail the software development platform (LabVIEW of course), computer vendor and specification, measurement devices, connectors, and so on. To use our previous analogy, you go to view your new house and it has been constructed using wood; you assumed it would be brick, but it has not been specified.

If your customer expected LabVIEW version 99 running on the latest Intel, but you deliver the system running on an old 486 DX that you found at the back of the cupboard, written using an ancient copy of LabVIEW version 3, there will definitely be tears. Your customer is not happy because he or she had expectations that were not met.

We also try and put all main user interfaces into this specification. It will force the customer to get involved with screen layout at an early stage and raise new issues about events and functionality. This should be one of your major prototypes . Build the screens and simulate their behavior, review with the customer, and when acceptable, document it here.

We find it useful to put all the timescales and milestones in the Target Specification. As its name indicates, this is what we are aiming for, so it makes sense for them to go in here.

In summary, the Target Specification should detail all expectations and how they will be addressed, and eliminate any assumptions about the system to be delivered or the project as a whole.

Assumptions can kill projects and should carry a government health warning!

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