Specifications:

understanding what people want

 when they don't really know what they want

Terms

• Spec - Shorthand for specification document(s)
• Client - Who wants the product?
• Deliverable - What are you giving them?
• Stakeholder - Who is involved in the process?

What are specs?

requirement specification

• a set of documented requirements to be satisfied by a material, design, product, or service

functional specification

• closely related to the requirement specification and may show functional block diagrams

design or product specification

• describes the features of the solutions for the Requirement Specification, referring to the designed solution or final produced solution

"in-service" or "maintained as" specification

• specifies the conditions of a system or object after years of operation, including the effects of wear and maintenance (configuration changes)

Basic Example

I want a program that will tell me when I need to order more of something. 

Specifications

Objective: Use programing to never run out of something.

Audience: Me! 

Timeframe: 1 week

Budget: 5 hours of my time

Examples: To-do List app on phone

Example:

I want a website for my business. We are a new start up that creates cat condos, targeted at people who want something both functional and attractive to have in their home. It needs to promote, explain, and sell our products. We have a lot of different styles, for any kind of decor, so customers need to be able to find the right style of condo. We go to a lot of adoption events and that kind of thing, so I want some place to list where we'll be. Don't forget to make it look cute, too!

What do we need to know?

• What are the objectives?

• What should it do?​

  • Who is the audience?

    • Who is making decisions? (stakeholder)

  • User stories

• When do they need it?

  • Budget? 

• Competitors?

• Examples?

• Non Functional requirements?