Software Development

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Functional Specification

Thorough requirements analysis is an important prerequisite to constructing a valid custom software functional specification. Your consultant's business skills enable rapid absorption of the business knowledge necessary to determine the custom software project's features.

Buy Features, not Software

Custom software consists of features. Each feature has some incremental cost to the total software expense. Certain features are more unique or complex to perform than others. A skilled consultant can identify the necessary features and advise you how to obtain them in the most appropriate manner.

Consider Packaged Software

In some cases, certain features, or even the entire software package you need, may already be written and available for far less expense than custom development. When applicable, packaged software can be the least expensive way to obtain the functionality you need. However, packages can also have potentially serious limitations and liabilities. Choose a consultant who considers packaged software solutions equally with custom software, and one who will give an unbiased opinion.

After Defining Requirements

Once you and your consultant identify and define all necessary features, your consultant and the software project's stakeholders discuss cost estimates for each feature. Design trade-offs occur. Your consultant incorporates team decisions into a revised functional specification. This process repeats until all stakeholders agree to the final functional specification.

Feature Complete

Finally, the feature set is complete, cost estimates are given, and the project is approved. Now can you proceed with the software design, project planning, and budgeting. Your consultant is there to assist you as needed, every step of the way.

Elements of a Functional Specification

You may think of a functional specification as a coherent, organized list of all the functional requirements a software system must have. A key deliverable in any software project, this document serves as a basis for estimating cost, measuring conformance and performance, and as a baseline for a change-control system.

Functional specifications often include:

• A brief background or executive summary of the business case or reason for the software project.
• An outline breaking down major functional areas into progressively finer detail, and ultimately into individual features
• Screen shots or mockups of a user interface (UI) design, with references to the functionality of each UI element
• A listing of business rules the software must enforce, stating any conditions that affect applying each rule
• Performance criteria, including response times, availability, scalability, and many other possible matters
• Platform constraints, including operating system, database, development platform, corporate standards, and other notable issues
• Deployment mechanisms, installation packages, and software update strategy
• Security requirements, including authentication, authorization, permission levels, sensitive data, and threat assessment
• Change control procedure, authority to make changes and authorize additional expenditures; crucial in fixed-price contracts

The above list is not exhaustive, and not every item in the above list might apply to a particular software project.

A Good Specification is Critical

We believe the single most common reason for projects that fail to meet expectations is lack of necessary attention to gathering the requirements and defining the functional specification. It is easy to underestimate the amount of time required to produce a thorough and complete requirements specification. In many instances, additional investment in this early stage saves many times the cost in correcting mistakes later in the software development cycle.

Expert Help is Available

Whether you prefer to perform your software development in-house, or outsource it, consider hiring a qualified consultant for the crucial requirements definition and function specification development. Your initial investment could reward you many times over the life of the software application. Let Productive Technology's skilled custom software consultant discuss these crucial issues with you.