When it comes to the development of any project, one of the primary tasks one needs to deal with is a technical requirements document. At One Logic Soft, we often help our clients deal with this task easily. Check out our blog for more tips on different aspects of development.
Let us explain why one need any technical requirements at all. Imagine coming to an auto shop and asking them to make you a car. The manager you are talking to will ask you all kinds of questions to figure out what type of car you have in mind. Now, let’s imagine you tell them “look, you’re an auto shop, don’t you know how to make cars? Just build me a good modern car. I’m not the person to be telling you that a car has four wheels and how the thing should drive”. Now, guess if the client would get the red Tesla Roadster they had in mind with such an approach? Without giving any technical specifications to the vendor, they are likely to end up with anything between a white diesel-powered Volkswagen and a grey Nissan Leaf.
We will give you quick, practical tips on how you can make a flawless technical requirements document from scratch. The tips are applicable regardless of the fact whether you have any technical background or not.
1. Understand Why You Need a Technical Requirement Doc
In case you have never worked with technical requirements before, this task might look overwhelming and even a bit scary. Before getting down to work, make sure to understand that investing time and effort into writing a good technical requirements document will pay off in the long run. Wonder why your project needs a technical requirements document? Here’s an overview of the main things you should know.
Well-written, accurate and comprehensive technical requirements perform the following functions:
- Eliminate most of the risks;
- Enable smooth project development process;
- Align the client’s expectations with the actual development results;
- Enable smooth project development transition to another vendor;
- Guarantee smooth project maintenance.
2. Get a Good Business Analyst
Clients without a technical background usually have trouble writing technical requirements. Even when you are familiar enough with the ins and outs of writing project technical documentation, doing everything on your own might be tricky. We recommend you to get in touch with a skilled business analyst. Such a person knows well how to start an online business, and they can help you make technical requirements easily.
3. Get a Checklist
Making a checklist is the easiest way of writing a good technical requirements doc. We prepared a technical requirements doc checklist template for you, click here to download it. Next, you can go through it with a business analyst.
4. Make an Outline
It’s always easier to work when you have a clear plan. A technical specification plan will help you organize the information well in the hierarchical structure.
A typical technical requirements document will look as follows:
- Vision statement (determine what the project aims to accomplish);
- Project charter (define the scope of the project);
- Software requirements (list the functional, non-functional, and implementational requirements);
- Project management plan (define the expected project outcome);
- Release plan (determine the schedule of the project duration);
- Iteration plan (define iteration activities);
- Note on understanding (document any important intentions and assumptions; note verbal agreements here as well);
- Criteria for project success (describe how you will measure the results of the project);
- Architecture and design (explain how the code should be organized);
- Coding standards;
- Test plan;
- Test case specification;
- User guide (explain how the software will be used by the user);
- System documentation.
5. Write a General Draft
Now, work according to the plan you prepared and write a general draft. In case you cannot be precise at the moment, write down the ideas and requirements in broad terms. You will be able to specify things later. Be consistent from the start, avoid any complex explanations that can be misleading. Write in simple, unambiguous words.
6. Polish Your Draft
Read your draft. Now, it’s time to add the critical technical details that define your project and differentiate it from the competitors. Next, add minor information and give a more accurate description of every requirement you’ve written. When you’re done, add specific details for every aspect of your requirements. It means that in every point where options are available, you should state what option exactly you need to be implemented.
7. Check Your Technical Requirements Document
When you drafted the technical requirements document for your project, double-check it to make sure that nothing is missing. Here is a checklist for a good technical requirements document:
- Well-structured. Make sure that all the sides, involved in the development of your project, will be able to find the needed information in this document easily and quickly. A simple data structure is the best.
- Proveable. The facts in the document can be checked, supported by data and proven);
- Straightforward unambiguous. Make sure that other people can understand your technical specification clearly. There should be no ambiguity or understatement that can confuse your development team. What seems self-evident for one person is a puzzle for another.
- Consistent and finished. Before handing your technical requirements to the development team, take another look at them to make sure that the provided information is accurate, concise and coherent.
If You Can’t Make It
If you read all the tips and still face that writer’s block when getting down to writing a technical specification document, try doing the following. In simple words, describe every screen of your future app. Alternatively, you can draw every screen. Describe all the elements. Write or draw what should be on the screens, how the users can switch between screens. Also, describe the most important features that should be developed first-priority. Next, describe features that can be developed secondly.
Try writing user stories rather than technical specifications. User stories are brief and simple descriptions of features that are told from the perspective of the product user. Here are several examples of user stories:
- As a user, I want to edit my contact details to keep them updated.
- As a user, I want to view a list of my friends so I can select some to send a message to.
- As a user, I want to edit my profile picture to keep it updated.
User stories shift the focus from describing features to discussing them.
Try reaching out to a development agency you chose with such a draft. It will facilitate understanding between the sides a lot. When an agency does not understand the whole scope of the project, they usually allocate some time and budget for the risks as well. So, it will help you cut your budget as well.
Final Thoughts
As you can see, writing technical requirements is one of the first and most important steps of building your project. We hope that this article helped you understand how to create an effective technical requirements document for your software project. If you need assistance creating, finalizing or checking your technical specification, get in touch with us. We are always enthusiastic about helping our clients build their innovative software projects. Follow us on Instagram and Facebook to get more updates, tips, and news from One Logic Soft.
Download a technical requirements template from One Logic Soft here. To get a website design brief, email us.
