Course Overview | Course Objectives | Course Contents | Workshop Benefits
Who Should Attend | Pre-requisite | Delivery Method | Course Duration | Trainers Profile
How to write a good SRS (Software Requirements Specification)
August 28, 2008 @ Bangalore, INDIA
A product is only as good as its specification. With the ever changing requirements in the fast paced IT industry, writing a good SRS helps ensure that the product is developed in tune with user needs, business priorities and for long term sustainability. Delivered by an Industry veteran who has trained hundreds of software engineers in producing comprehensive and easy to read and update specifications, this is an interactive hands on workshop
Understanding user requirements, Identifying user environments and constraints, Eliciting user requirements, classifying and prioritizing requirements and documenting all these in a typical SRS template. Learn about common mistakes committed while writing an SRS and things that are usually left out. Get insight into the process of writing the SRS and the stakeholders involved and how to track changes and ways to integrate requirements traceability
- Identification of end users
- Learning to differentiate between customers and end users
- User Environment and usage patterns
- Constraints in user space
- User characteristics and how it can affect product requirements
- Living the user experience
- Practical tips to understand users
- Assumptions and Conclusions
- Taking user feedback
- User Scenarios and how to write them
- Documenting user scenarios
- Prioritizing user scenarios
- Translating user scenarios into specifications
- Requirements models and how to apply them
- Quality Function Deployment (QFD) and using it to capture requirements
- Mind Mapping
- Documentation to enable requirements tracking
- Writing a good requirements specification document
- Attributes of a good SRS
- Handling requirement changes
- Avoiding the design trap
- Documenting Error Messages
- Updating the SRS when requirements change
- Process considerations
- Expectations of requirements management in ISO
- Key focus areas relating to requirements management in the SEI CMMI model
- Stakeholders in eliciting and signing off requirements
- Tracking user requirements right through the SDLC
- Methods of tracking
- Ensuring trace ability
- Incorporating tracking in the process
Benefits/Takeaways / Workshop Motivation
Well begun is half done – Anonymous.
Documenting a clear set of user requirements ensures a good start for a project. It helps project managers estimate better, prevent defects and deliver products that meet customer expectations and helps companies succeed in the competitive marketplace. It helps set up a updating mechanism that ensures smooth handling of changing requirements and trace them to delivery
Senior Developers, Design engineers, software specialists, Test leads, Architects, Project Leads and Managers, Market Research specialists and technical writers
Pre-requisite - At least 2 years experience in the IT industry
Delivery Method - Team based, with project work and creative exercises that challenge the mind.
Course Duration - Two sessions of 4 hours each
Muralidhar Koteshwar, Principal Consultant: a graduate of IIT Madras has been in the IT Industry for the last sixteen years in a career that spans a complete product life-cycle - Product Conceptualization and Development, Market feedback to design teams, Usability design, Quality (ISO & SEI CMM), Sales, Marketing, Product management, Corporate Communications and Program management in cross-cultural transoceanic teams. He has held leadership positions in companies like C-DAC, Tata Elxsi, Tektronix, Celstream and TRILOGY.
He has conducted many successful workshops, seminars and tutorials on a wide range of topics that include Requirements Management, Time Management, Transitioning from Developer to Lead, Usability, Quality and Statistical Process Control. He brings to these programs a unique experiential process that makes the audience participate with enthusiasm.