Functional Requirements and Specifications: A Quick Tutorial
Summary
TLDRThe script explores the importance of functional specifications in IT projects, explaining their purpose to define software requirements. It discusses various formats like FRDs, SRSs, BRDs, Use Cases, and User Stories, emphasizing their role in aligning business and IT objectives. The speaker shares insights on creating concise documents for better alignment and provides a free use case template for effective requirement documentation.
Takeaways
- š A functional specification is a document that defines the requirements to be implemented by a software solution.
- š It is created to align business needs with IT solutions, often involving business process changes, organizational changes, or configuration adjustments.
- š Common formats for functional specifications include Functional Requirements Document (FRD), System Requirements Specification (SRS), and Business Requirements Document (BRD).
- š Use Cases and User Stories are alternative formats that provide context and clarity to functional requirements, reducing ambiguity.
- š¤ The functional specification serves as a bridge between business and IT stakeholders, ensuring mutual understanding and agreement on system capabilities.
- š The document is crucial for confirming that the software meets the business users' needs and is feasible and implementable from a technical perspective.
- š Early in a career, functional specifications might be extensive, but as a business analyst matures, the preference often shifts towards shorter, more focused documents.
- š 'System shall' statements in FRDs, SRSs, or BRDs outline the functionalities required but can lack context, making them harder to implement and test.
- š Use Cases provide a step-by-step guide that embeds functional requirements within user actions, aiding in clarity and reducing scope creep.
- š¤ User Stories succinctly capture user goals, functional requirements, and business benefits in a single statement, facilitating easy planning and alignment.
- š The choice of specification format should consider organizational standards and stakeholder preferences to avoid future issues.
- š Use case thinking, often paired with wireframes, is essential for uncovering detailed requirements and ensuring that no critical needs are overlooked.
Q & A
What is a functional specification in the context of an IT project?
-A functional specification is a document that defines the requirements to be implemented by the software solution in an IT project.
Why is creating a functional specification important for business analysts?
-Creating a functional specification is important to capture what the software needs to do to support a business user, ensuring alignment between business and IT stakeholders.
What are some common formats for a functional specification document?
-Common formats include the Functional Requirements Document (FRD), System Requirements Specification (SRS), Business Requirements Document (BRD), Use Cases, and User Stories.
How do business process changes relate to functional specifications?
-While not all solutions are software-based, business process changes can be part of the requirements defined in a functional specification, especially when they are supported by IT systems.
What is the purpose of the 'system shall' statements in a functional specification?
-'System shall' statements are used to represent functional requirements, typically organized in tables by feature with a priority identified.
How do use cases differ from 'system shall' statements in capturing functional requirements?
-Use cases provide a series of steps in the context of user actions, which helps eliminate ambiguity and provides context that is often missing in 'system shall' statements.
What is the syntax for capturing functional requirements in a User Story?
-The syntax for a User Story is 'As a {user}, I can {do something} so that {I receive some benefit}.' This format captures user goals, functional requirements, and business benefits.
Why might a business analyst choose a shorter scope document over a longer one?
-A shorter scope document can be more efficient to write and approve, consolidating overview sections with use cases or user stories to focus on the functional details.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of using system shall statements, use cases, and user stories?
-System shall statements are easy to track but lack context. Use cases provide context but can expand in scope. User stories are concise and link goals and benefits but may lose the big picture if used in isolation.
How can a business analyst ensure they capture the right requirements in a functional specification?
-By using use case thinking and corresponding wireframes, a business analyst can ensure they capture the right level of detail and discover requirements that might be missed otherwise.
What is the significance of the functional specification in aligning business and IT stakeholders?
-The functional specification is the document that sits in the middle, holding everything together, and ensuring that both business and technical stakeholders confirm the requirements are what is needed and feasible.
Outlines
š Understanding Functional Specifications
This paragraph introduces the concept of a functional specification in the context of IT projects, emphasizing its importance for business analysts. It explains the purpose of such a document, which is to define the software requirements needed to solve a business problem. The paragraph also touches on the various formats a functional specification can take, such as the Functional Requirements Document, System Requirements Specification, and Business Requirements Document, among others. It highlights the significance of aligning business and IT through this document, which is reviewed and approved by both business and technical stakeholders to ensure the software meets the desired outcomes and is feasible to implement.
š Evolution of Documentation Formats
The speaker shares personal experiences with the evolution of documentation formats used in business analysis. Initially, they created extensive software requirements specifications, which were comprehensive but cumbersome and time-consuming. Over time, they moved towards more concise documents that combined overview sections with use cases to delve into functional details. The paragraph also mentions the use of user stories in agile projects as an alternative format. The essence of the functional specification, regardless of format, is to create alignment between business users' needs and IT's capabilities. The speaker also discusses the representation of functional requirements in different documents, such as system shall statements, use cases, and user stories, providing examples for each.
š Pros and Cons of Requirement Capture Methods
This paragraph delves into the advantages and disadvantages of different methods for capturing functional requirements. System shall statements are easy to track but lack context, making them difficult to implement and test. Use cases provide context, which helps in getting the right requirements approved and implemented, but they can become too broad or lose individual requirements within larger documents. User stories effectively link business benefits, functionality, and user goals, facilitating easy planning, but they can lose the big picture if not used in conjunction with other documentation. The choice of approach is often dictated by organizational standards, but when absent, it's important to consult with stakeholders. The paragraph concludes with the importance of use case thinking and corresponding wireframes for capturing the right level of detail in software requirements.
Mindmap
Keywords
š”Functional Specification
š”Business Analyst
š”Software Requirements
š”Use Cases
š”User Stories
š”System Shall Statements
š”Agile Projects
š”Technical Stakeholders
š”Business Process Change
š”Requirements Management Systems
š”Wireframes
Highlights
A functional specification is essential for defining software requirements in an IT project.
Business solutions can involve changes beyond software, like business processes or organizational adjustments.
Functional specifications are crucial for aligning IT solutions with business needs.
Different formats for functional specifications exist, including FRD, SRS, BRD, Use Cases, and User Stories.
Functional specifications bridge the gap between business and technical stakeholders.
Early career projects may involve lengthy software requirements specifications.
Mature business analysts may opt for shorter, more focused functional specification documents.
Use Cases provide context to functional requirements, reducing ambiguity.
User Stories capture user goals, functional requirements, and business benefits in a concise statement.
System shall statements are easy to track but can lack context for implementation.
Use Cases can expand in scope, potentially misaligning with business goals.
User stories facilitate easy planning but may lose the big picture if focused on alone.
Organizational standards often dictate the approach to functional specification documentation.
Engaging with stakeholders is key to defining the functional specification format.
Use case thinking, with wireframes, helps in detailing software requirements effectively.
The functional specification is a moment of true alignment between business and IT.
Bridging the Gap teaches use cases as a foundational skill for business analysts.
A free use case template is offered to help business analysts get started with documentation.
Transcripts
If you find yourself in a businessĀ analyst role on an IT project, itāsĀ Ā
likely that at some point youāll need toĀ create a functional specification ā andĀ Ā
these can take many different forms depending onĀ the methodologies in place at your organization.Ā Ā
But what is a functional specification? WhyĀ do you create a functional specification? And,Ā Ā
perhaps more importantly, whatĀ goes into a document like this?
The purpose of a functional specification isĀ to define the requirements to be implementedĀ Ā
by the software solution. Now, as businessĀ analysts, not all aspects of our solutionsĀ Ā
are software-based. A perfectly legitimateĀ solution to a business problem could involveĀ Ā
a business process change, organizationalĀ change, or even a configuration adjustment.
But since so much of business todayĀ is supported directly by IT systems,Ā Ā
many times solving a problem meansĀ upgrading or building new softwareā¦andĀ Ā
that means specifying functional requirements.Ā
Depending on your methodology and businessĀ analysis practices, a functional specificationĀ Ā
can come in a variety of different formats.Ā A few of the most common formats are:
Functional Requirements Document System Requirements SpecificationĀ
Business Requirements Document (contraryĀ to the name, they commonly do notĀ Ā
include only business requirements butĀ also functional, software requirements)Ā
Use Cases and User Stories, which isĀ what we teach at Bridging the Gap.
WhateverĀ templateĀ is in place atĀ your organization, the purpose of theĀ Ā
functional specification is to capture what theĀ software needs to do to support a business user.Ā Ā
Often it is reviewed and approved byĀ both business and technical stakeholders.Ā Ā
The business users confirm that yes, this is whatĀ they really want the system to do. The technicalĀ Ā
users confirm that, yes, these requirementsĀ are feasible, implementable, and testable.Ā
The functional spec is the moment of trueĀ alignment between business and IT. OtherĀ Ā
documents, such asĀ business process modelsĀ andĀ business needs assessments might be primarilyĀ Ā
reviewed by business stakeholders. More technicalĀ documents such as technical design specifications,Ā Ā
are often primarily reviewed by BAs,Ā QAs, Ā and technical stakeholders.
Itās the functional spec that sits inĀ the middle and holds everything together.
Early in my career I tended to create 50+Ā Ā
pageĀ software requirements specificationsĀ whichĀ included information about the project,Ā Ā
project team, open issues, environment,Ā assumptions, dependencies, constraints,Ā Ā
key dates, business model,Ā dataĀ requirements,Ā and, finally, the functional requirements. (TheĀ Ā
functional requirements typically took up allĀ but 10-15 pages of these long documents.) TheseĀ Ā
documents were thorough, but theyĀ were heavyĀ and took entirely too long to write and approve.
As I matured as a business analyst, IĀ gravitated towards a shorter scope documentĀ Ā
that consolidated many of the overview sectionsĀ in my earlier documents along with a set ofĀ useĀ Ā
casesĀ to drill into the functional details.Ā Iāve also been on a few agile projectsĀ Ā
whereĀ user storiesĀ were the preferred format.
Whatever the format, my focus was creatingĀ alignment between what the business usersĀ Ā
wanted and needed the system to do and what IT wasĀ prepared to build for them. And thatās really theĀ Ā
essence of the functional spec. Iāll share examples of a useĀ Ā
case and user stories. But first, letās discussĀ the longer documents ā FRDs, SRSs, or BRDs.
In a FRD, SRS, or BRD, functional requirementsĀ are typically represented as āsystem shallāĀ Ā
statements. Youāll typically have a list ofĀ system shalls, often organized in tables byĀ Ā
feature with a priority identified. ForĀ example, āThe system shall enable courseĀ Ā
participants to submit a question.ā or āTheĀ system shall enable the course instructor toĀ Ā
view all course participant questions.ā In a Use Case,Ā Ā
functional requirements are typicallyĀ represented as a series of steps. The useĀ Ā
case puts a collection of functional requirementsĀ into the context of user action, which typicallyĀ Ā
eliminates a lot of ambiguity that makes itās wayĀ into an out-of context list of system shalls. ForĀ Ā
example, āCourse participant selects toĀ submit a question. Course participant providesĀ Ā
their name, selects a question category,Ā Ā
and provides a textual question. System sendsĀ an email to the course instructor containing theĀ Ā
information provided by the course participant.ā You can use the link below to download my use caseĀ Ā
template ā itās absolutely free. In a User Story, functional requirements areĀ Ā
typically captured in the following syntax:Ā āAs a {user}, I can {do something} soĀ Ā
that {I receive some benefit}. When usedĀ appropriately, the user story syntax isĀ Ā
brilliant at capturing user goals, functionalĀ requirements, and business benefits altogether inĀ Ā
one concise statement. Ā For example, āAs a courseĀ participant, I can submit a question so that IĀ Ā
get my concerns about the course materialsĀ addressedā and āAs a course instructor, IĀ Ā
can view all course participant questionsĀ so I can respond in a timely manner.ā
Each of these ways of capturing functionalĀ requirements has its pros and cons.
System shall statements are easy toĀ track in requirements management systemsĀ Ā
but difficult to implement and test asĀ they are often presented without context.Ā
Use cases provide great context which helpsĀ get the right functional requirements approvedĀ Ā
and implemented, but itās also easy forĀ the scope inside a use caseĀ expandĀ whileĀ Ā
meeting user goals (which may not align toĀ business goals) or for individual requirementsĀ Ā
to get lost in larger use case documents. User stories link together business benefits,Ā Ā
functionality, and user goals and are often at theĀ right level of detail to facilitate easy planning,Ā Ā
but itās easy to lose track of the bigĀ picture if you focus on user stories alone.
The approach you choose will often beĀ dictated by organizational standards.Ā Ā
In the absence of standards, you get to defineĀ your own. Itās a good idea to start by asking theĀ Ā
business and technical stakeholders what theyādĀ like to see in a spec, as this can help you avoidĀ Ā
a lot of issues down the line. Believe me, IĀ know from some personal, painful experiences.Ā
And no matter what specification format you useĀ to document your functional requirements, ensuringĀ Ā
you get the right requirements requires use caseĀ thinking, often with corresponding wireframes.
When you think in terms of the interchangeĀ of a user and system interaction,Ā Ā
you will get to the right level ofĀ detail in your software requirementsĀ Ā
and often discover requirements thatĀ otherwise will often get missed.
This is why we teach use cases as a coreĀ foundational skill at Bridging the Gap.
And if you want to learn moreĀ about that and get startedĀ Ā
right away, again you can download myĀ absolutely free use case template below.
We build our profession one business analystĀ at a time, and success starts with you.
Browse More Related Video
SARCH20 V2C 2021 04 15 Module 1 deel 1 van 3
Software Requirement Specification (SRS) Tutorial and EXAMPLE | Functional Requirement Document
How To Create a Project Charter
Software Requirements Specification (SRS) | Software Engineering
How Do You Create A Data Strategy?
Introduction & How to write SRS - Software Requirements Specification Document
5.0 / 5 (0 votes)