Why Do We Need Specifications?

Whenever you want a custom software solution, you think about how it will work, look and benefit for you. The question is how to deliver all your thoughts, ideas and expectations to the software engineer so that the product meets your requirements. The best way is to simply state them on paper, interactively refine and finalize them along with us. All the formulations are thus shaped into a specification.

• Scope and objectives
• Target audience
• Design requirements
• Functional and performance requirements
• Database models and system architecture
• Deployment requirements, and some more

The specification is a kind of hands-on reference for all the stakeholders of the software development project. On the one hand, it details and summarizes the customer wishes and requirements to the product. On the other hand, it provides a structured overview on the product, gives hints and other relevant info that is necessary for:

• software engineers to code
• QA team to test the product
• marketing people to issue adequate strategies
• management to make right decisions

These are our time-proved speculations why we should not neglect specifications and make them our project supporters.

• Common vision
  All documented requirements to the product reflect a common understanding of the product concept, thus preventing the customer and software engineer from functional and architectural ambiguities.
• Project estimation
  It is obvious that no accurate estimation of the project workload and budget is possible when the product is not enough specified. The reason is that each software solution is unique having its own distinctive simplicity and specifics. In-depth analysis and specification of the product helps to identify and cover all of its aspects thus leading to a fair estimation at the end.
• Project schedule
  Only a specification with all nailed down decisions allows us to fearlessly work out a project plan, properly assign tasks to responsible persons and easily control software development process.
• Process transparency and productivity
  Projects with specifications offer a seamless software development process, increased productivity in the teams, rational communication and clearness in all the events taking place within the project. The explanation for such a non-chaotic project behavior is that each participant of the project definitely knows What, When and How to Do.
• Risk and costs reduction
  Clarification and description of all decisions related to software functionality, performance and architecture in the infant project stage prevent the customer from frustrations, unnecessary investments on solution redevelopment and design iterations in the future. Additionally, we are able to envisage and fix possible risks related to the project time frames, efforts and product quality.
• Objective claims
  We consider it for normal when our customers request for enhancements after the product release. Nevertheless, all the enhancements and claims are considered as equitable and exposed to implementation if they are within the scope of the specification. That is why we stand for the documentation both for complex and non-trivial solutions in order to avoid painful critiques.

We offer you several alternatives of how to have a specification ready. Depending on the software nature you wish us to develop and your business principles, you can choose and negotiate any of the following with us:

• You provide us with a ready specification. We analyze it and ensure that it meets our technical expertise and is consistent in all its points. Utilization of our templates is possible.
• We jointly work out a specification via rigorous analysis of the product and collective discussions.
• We independently work out a specification for your product by considering the minimal information that you can provide us with. What you need after all is to revise the documentation and confirm that we have fully touched upon your requirements.

Contact Us for more information about specifications.