What Software is Needed - the Software Requirements
The Software Requirements Definition (SRD) document describes in logical and systematic terms how the objective defined in the Business Requirement is to be accomplished. When the Business Requirement is not clearly defined is frequently the SRD frequently presents system requirements as though they were business requirements. This lack of connection to the underlying Business Requirement is a common source of project scope 'creep'.
The benefit of the prior focus on data and process analysis is that the information requirements (inputs and outputs) needed to make the
The SRD serves a number of purposes: it is generally used as the basis on which software will be accepted from a developer; where software development and testing is subject to constraints imposed by regulatory agencies the software must be seen to satisfy the Requirements before it can be used to support live operations. The SRD also serves as the basis for the Technical Design phase of the project, which in turn is required for the programming phases.
Because a comprehensive SRD is a major undertaking in itself the content of the SRD is more important than the specific format. Depending on information gathered in prior stages of the project it may not be necessary to build the document in its entirety. The precise format is less important than the content.
The SRD needs to encompass the following:
1. A comprehensive statement of the Business Requirement - the Desired Business Outcome
2.The overall Functional Architecture of the software and how it relates to the affected business processes
3. Descriptions of Functional Requirements: this section is the most difficult to construct effectively - that is, to ensure that there are no omissions. Each Functional Requirement should be identified in terms of
- Logic structure
- Information Requirements (inputs)
- Information Outputs
- Stakeholders
- Classes of user
- Relationships to, and dependencies on, business process(es)
4. Data Architecture & Data Dictionary
5. Technology Constraints
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