Yes – (mostly) always
For some of our more seasoned engineers, this will be a bit of a ‘back to basics’ blog post – however, it’s something that has cropped up and been questioned during recent project discovery calls, so we thought it was well worth covering off.
Today we’re talking about requirements specifications or the “Managing Expectations Document” as we often affectionally call it.
A requirements specification document is an absolutely essential part of any development project. In its simplest guise it is a form of contract that sets out between developer and client, the functionality of the product being built and expected finished result.
It establishes the functionality at the end of a project, providing both a discussion point for the customer and developer, and ultimately a defined way of assessing “are we done?”. A good requirements document does not restrict the project journey but provides an unambiguous way to judge if the delivery is correct.
What does good look like?
Before starting any work with us, or another electronics design consultancy (other agencies are available) you should be thinking about what will go into your document.
A good requirements document should be:
- Unique
- Clear & Unambiguous
- Testable
- Complete
- Feasible
Each requirement should be testable, and the outcome of the test should then prove that the final product does what was agreed.
What’s the worst that can happen?
So, why is this important?
Well from an engineering perspective, it means we have full scope of the project, we know what is expected of us, so we can assign time accordingly and complete the project to the customer’s expectation.
From the customer point of view they will have an agreed specification from the engineer that their project, when delivered, should meet specific criteria and arrive with their desired functionality.
It provides our clients with confidence that the job will be finished to their needs, and gives our engineers very non ambiguous end point – which all engineers LOVE.
Take away our handy download…
To learn more, and help create your very own requirement spec you can download our more detailed “Requirements Specification Guide” by using this link. Make sure you’re fully prepared before starting any electronic design development project – you’ll be very glad you did!