Spec Writing

[Hrach_Techie]

Hi ...

A functional specification document talks about the process for the
development of products/applications. It is a consummate document that
provides technical information about the product being developed. The
document describes the behavior of a product as seen by a user. The author
of this document should be familiar with user interfaces, product design,
and other aspects of the product development. The document is prepared after the software requirements stage. This document is primarily used by software developers. It helps them to get information concerning the design of the product. In the next stage, developers use the functional specification
document to create low-level design (LLD) and high-level design (HLD)
documents, which describe the software design in detail. In other words, a
functional specification document is a technical interpretation of product
requirements.

How does it differ from user manuals?

User manual is created by a technical writer. The technical writer
understands the customers' requirements, identifies usability/supportability
requirements, and defines his or her deliverables for a particular release.
When the product prototype is ready, the technical writer uses the prototype
to get acquianted with user interfaces, features, and various other aspects
of the product. In addition, this gives the technical writer an idea about
the end-user documents and their contents. In simpler words, a user manual
is prepared by a technical writer with/without input from engineering,
marketing, and testing teams. On the other hand, a functional specification
is created by a team comprising technical architects (tech leads or
designers), product analysts, and surrogate users of the product (perhaps
technical writers!).

Here are a few points to remember when writing a functional specification
document:

* Get a complete list of product requirements.
* Every problem has more than one solution. Choosing the right solution is
key to the success of this activity. However, describe all possible solutions/approaches being considered.
* Provide technical details concerning the software design.
* The content in this document may be used by developers to create a product module. So, make it as comprehensive as possible.

Good luck and pls comment on this!

[SUNSHINE]

Здорово, спасибо за очень и очень нужную информацию

Я сейчас наконец-то закончу свой User Manual по описанию базы данных гос. регистра РА и кстати, как это не странно Functional Specification Document мне только мешал в этом вопросе, когда я начала описывать софт, то получилoсь почти то же самое, что и этот документ, как-будто я его списала. Пока я его не отложила в сторону и не начала работать с самими разработчиками софта и главное с USER-ами у меня ничего не получалось