| It is easier to write requirements, and far more convenient, if the requirements analysts have a guide to writing them. appendix B of this book provides the Volere Requirements Specification Template, which sets out a complete description of the product's functionality and capabilities. This template, which is a distillation of literally hundreds of requirements specifications, is currently used by thousands of organizations all over the world. Requirements can be categorized into several useful types. Each of the template's sections describes a type of requirement and its variations. Thus, as you discover the requirements with your stakeholders, you can add them to your specification, using the template as a guide to necessary content. We do not intend that you should complete the requirements specification before starting on any construction of the product. The template is not provided for that purpose. Rather, it is designed to serve as a sophisticated checklist, providing you with a list of things to write about, and suggestions on how to write about them. For example, if you are working on a project with active business/development collaboration and the opportunity for iterative delivery, then you should use the first eight sections of the template as your guide for building your foundation. The table of contents for the template is reproduced on the next page, and we will discuss each section in detail later in the book. Consider carefully which sections apply to your current project.  | The complete Volere Requirements Specification Template is in appendix B. |
Project Drivers reasons and motivators for the project The Purpose of the Project the reason for making the investment in building the product and the business advantage that we want to achieve by doing so The Client, the Customer, and Other Stakeholders the people with an interest in or an influence on the product Users of the Product the intended end users, and how they affect the product's usability
Project Constraints the restrictions on the project and the product Requirements Constraints limitations on the project, and restrictions on the design of the product Naming Conventions and Definitions the vocabulary of the project Relevant Facts and Assumptions outside influences that make some difference to this product, or assumptions that the developers are making
Functional Requirements the functionality of the product The Scope of the Work the business area or domain under study The Scope of the Product a definition of the intended product boundaries and the product's connections to adjacent systems Functional and Data Requirements things the product must do and the data manipulated by the functions
Nonfunctional Requirements the product's qualities Look and Feel Requirements the intended appearance Usability and Humanity Requirements what the product has to be if it is to be successfully used by its intended audience Performance Requirements how fast, big, accurate, safe, reliable, robust, scalable, and long-lasting, and what capacity Operational and Environmental Requirements the product's intended operating environment Maintainability and Support Requirements how changeable the product must be and what support is needed Security Requirements the security, confidentiality, and integrity of the product Cultural and Political Requirements human and sociological factors Legal Requirements conformance to applicable laws
Project Issues issues relevant to the project that builds the product Open Issues as yet unresolved issues with a possible bearing on the success of the product Off-the-Shelf Solutions ready-made components that might be used instead of building something from scratch New Problems problems caused by the introduction of the new product Tasks things to be done to bring the product into production Migration to the New Product tasks to convert from existing systems Risks the risks that the project is most likely to incur Costs early estimates of the cost or effort needed to build the product User Documentation the plan for building the user instructions and documentation Waiting Room requirements that might be included in future releases of the product Ideas for Solutions design ideas that we do not want to lose
Browse through the template before you go too much further in this book. You will find a lot about writing requirements, plus much food for thought about the kinds of requirements to be gathered. Throughout this book, we will refer to requirements by their typethat is, by one of the types as shown in the template's table of contents. |
