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A functional specification is the set of documentation that describes the requested behavior of an engineering system. The documentation typically describes what is needed by the system user as well as requested properties of inputs and outputs.



Bridging the Gap with Requirements Definition

Developing a new product or service is tricky. When everything goes well, the product can redefine a market or even create an entirely new one, to the benefit of its manufacturer and its consumers. When the product doesn't click with its audience, though, the costs—development, employee, manufacturing—can be staggering. How do you ensure that your new product doesn't flop? One effective method is to conduct a requirements definition phase before developing a new product.

Olshavsky, Ryan. Cooper Interaction Design (2002). Articles>Usability>Specifications


Business Requirements Documents vs. Functional Software Requirements

To determine what goes into the BRD and what goes into an SRS, the best place to start is by thinking in terms of who uses the BRD vs. the SRS and what decisions do they need to make from it. If you think of a typical process model, executives must be presented with information following each phase to determine if the project should continue. Based on the information gathered in each phase, the team presents a summary to the executive who decides whether to proceed.

Chen, Anthony. Seilevel (2010). Articles>Business Communication>Requirements>Functional Specifications


Common Mistakes: Functional Specification for Web Development


Buerki, Nicolas. E-Consultancy (2004). Articles>Writing>Specifications>Functional Specifications


Creating a User Experience Specification  (link broken)   (PDF)

Creating any system of sufficient complexity requires a diverse team and a dizzying amount of documentation. While these documents do a great job of conveying components of the system, they do not provide an integrated view. This is because each covers different aspects of the system, written by a different author for a different audience. This paper proposes that project teams should create a user experience specification, a document that shows what the system looks like, how it behaves, and how it works. This specification needs to describe the system for all team members, at a useful level of detail, in a form that encourages team members to read it and inviting enough to get them to participate in the design, as well as allow developers to build from.

Oye, Phil and John Payne. STC Proceedings (2004). Design>User Experience>Specifications


Functional Spec Tutorial: What and Why

Functional specifications (functional specs), in the end, are the blueprint for how you want a particular web project or application to look and work. It details what the finished product will do, how a user will interact with it, and what it will look like. By creating a blueprint of the product first, time and productivity are saved during the development stage because the programmers can program instead of also working out the logic of the user-experience. It will also enable you to manage the expectations of your clients or management, as they will know exactly what to expect.

Mojofat. Articles>Writing>Specifications>Technical Writing


Functional Specification  (link broken)


Whatis.com. Articles>Writing>Specifications>Functional Specifications


Functional Specification and Review  (link broken)

The Functional Specification is created after the Software Requirements Document. It provides more detail on selected items originally described in the Software Requirements Document. Some software development organizations combine these two documents into a single document.

Electric Power Research Institute. Articles>Writing>Specifications>Functional Specifications


Functional Specification Standard   (Word)


Software Reality. Articles>Writing>Specifications>Functional Specifications


Functional Specifications Subvert the Hierarchy of Nature

When you use a spec, you give your trust and authority to a piece of paper rather than the people on your team. You codify laws. You strip your 'judges' of the ability to act on intuitive feelings. Thereâ€™s no fluidity. Thereâ€™s no ability to respond, change, and evolve.

Fried, Jason. Signal vs. Noise. Articles>Collaboration>Specifications


Getting Real, Step 1: No Functional Spec


Fried, Jason. Signal vs. Noise (2005). Articles>Writing>Specifications>Functional Specifications


Goal Oriented Requirements

Your requirements document needs to focus on the user’s goals. They should not be marketing’s list of features 'we’ve got to have' because the competition has these features. They should not be a list of things the programmers think ought to be included 'because we can add those things for very little cost.' Feature bloat does not benefit the user.

Ferlazzo, Ellen Lawson. Sprezzatura Systems (2002). Articles>User Centered Design>Specifications>Software


How to Read (W3C Specs)


Eisenberg, J. David. List Apart, A (2001). Design>Web Design>Standards>Specifications


Identifying Web Site Requirements   (PDF)

The authors emphasize the importance of conducting thorough research on business goals, branding goals, user needs, and technical resources before Web designers undertake a redesign. The article also offers suggestions about how to define, develop, and communicate a client's brand.

Summers, Kathryn and Michael Summers. Intercom (2001). Articles>Usability>Specifications


Inspecting Requirements


Wiegers, Karl E. StickyMinds (2004). Articles>Documentation>Engineering>Specifications


Introduction to Requirements: The Critical Details That Make or Break a Project   (members only)

Every project has requirements. It doesn't matter if it's building hardware solutions, developing software solutions, installing networks, protecting data, or training users. For the project to be a success, knowing what the requirements are is an absolute must. Requirements exist for virtually any components of a project or task. For example, a project may require specific methods, expertise levels of personnel, or the format of deliverables. This whitepaper will discuss the various kinds of information technology requirements, their importance, the different requirement types, the concept of requirements engineering, and the process for gathering requirements.

Frederick, Richard. Global Knowledge (2007). Articles>Project Management>Business Communication>Specifications


On Writing


Shetty, Ashish. Blogspot. Articles>Writing>Specifications


Painless Functional Specifications - Part 1: Why Bother?


Spolsky, Joel. Joel on Software (2000). Articles>Writing>Specifications>Software


Painless Functional Specifications - Part 2: What's a Spec?


Spolsky, Joel. Joel on Software (2000). Articles>Writing>Specifications>Functional Specifications


Requirements Gathering and Analysis: Functional Requirements




Requirements Gathering and Analysis: Non-Functional Requirements




Requirements vs. Solutions

Your requirements will assist you in delivering a software solution that meets your users' needs. You can find all sorts of templates and formal processes for requirements of various kinds, and while they are useful, the biggest problem I've found is that most people confuse defining the need with proposing a solution. As soon as a requirements document contains any part of 'how we're solving this', you've crossed the line into presupposing that you already know what the problem is and can stop listening.

Ferlazzo, Ellen Lawson. Sprezzatura Systems (2002). Careers>Consulting>Specifications


Seeing the World Through Different Specs: Or, How I Came to Love Writing Software Specifications   (PDF)

Much has been said and written about Object-Oriented Programming in the past few years, some of it even worthwhile. While not the panacea on which we've all waited, OOP is, however, changing not only our concept of software design and development, but is subtly re-shaping the way in which we see and know the world. For technical communicators, this epistemological change will radically affect not only the way we craft software specifications, but will permanently re-shape our worldview.

Weathington, Thomas L., Jr. STC Proceedings (1998). Articles>Writing>Specifications>Technical Writing


So What IS User Requirements Gathering?

Requirements gathering is all about aiming at the right target. It doesn't matter how accurate you are, if you aim at the wrong target, you miss.

Frontend Infocentre (2009). Articles>Usability>Research>Functional Specifications


Specifications and Standards Resources  (link broken)

A collection of dozens of online resources for writers of standards and specifications.

IPA. Resources>Directories>Standards>Specifications



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