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How to Write a Functional SpecificationBy Dino
Fancellu With the advent of use cases and object oriented analysis & design techniques, "traditional" functional and requirements specs have faded into the background somewhat: they appear to be less "trendy" than they once were. Agile processes, which are an important advancement in software thinking, have had the unfortunate effect of "de-emphasising" functional specs in peoples' minds. It is important to understand that the point of agility is not to write no documentation, but to write just enough: to use documentation and modeling as a means to an end, a way of getting to the code. The fact remains: functional specs are no less important to a software project than they were ten, twenty or even thirty years ago. They can be used in tandem with use cases: in fact, this symbiotic relationship can help to keep the functional spec a short, meaningful document that says just enough about the required functionality. The use case realizations can then form the examples (e.g. scenarios depicted as sequence diagrams derived from the use cases). The use cases can also help to identify gaps in the functional specification (and vice versa). So, what should go into a functional specification? The template linked to below provides a good starting point, and is a decent checklist for the sort of things that should be included in any functional spec. If any of these items are included elsewhere in the project documentation, the functional spec should provide a reference to them: hence it becomes a useful, centralised document. Although it is generally referred to in the singular, the functional specification is really a collection of documents (including the use cases) that define the functional requirements of the system. It is important not to regard this document (or any other standard, or template, or set of guidelines) as being sacrosanct, set in stone, unchangeable or inflexible. Every project is different; and every document should be adapted to suit the local conditions. Functional Specification Standard: MS Word HTML
Talkback - Have Your Say: Message Index:
The Messages: Functional Specification of GIS for the electric utilityHi As part of my training program i am suppose to develop a functional specification of geographic information system for the electric utility i work for. My question is how do i go about doing that. The utility consist of the following departments: Planning Transmission and Distribution Customer Service Purchasing Accounts and Finance System Control. Any help on how to proceed. Bernard Akuffo bernard_akuffo@yahoo.com Castries, St Lucia Wed Dec 11 19:15:57 GMT 2002 Thanks, helpful Thanks, this article has been very helpful! Danielle Farrar Los Angeles, USA Thu Mar 18 19:19:03 GMT 2004 Thanks Dino! A nice, quick and handy list. Mike Westcott Faulconbridge Data Systems, UK Mon Apr 26 22:04:58 BST 2004 Thanks Thanks for making this freely available. Simon crushednickel@hotmail.com Nottingham, England Tue Feb 21 23:20:20 GMT 2006 Thanks I've written them before, and written them badly. Thanks for your "Standard" doc, and for making it freely available. erica berkeley, ca Wed Aug 16 05:16:05 BST 2006 Thanks. The information in the document and the format was very helpful. Thanks for all your effort and to put those online. Jay Sun Jan 13 23:39:17 GMT 2008 Thank you. Thank you so much for the standard functional spec. We are planning to use this across our small office. Srikant Hyderabad, India Sat May 17 11:44:25 BST 2008 FSD for KMS Dear Sir / Madam I m interested in writing a FSD for Universal Key Management System for a number of secure communication equipment. Please guide me on the matter. If you could give me the suggested format of the document. Thanks. Expecting a positive and early response. Arshad Arshad arshad66pk@hotmail.com Islamabad, Pakistan Thu Jun 19 04:53:48 BST 2008
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