SRS IN A PINCH

A SRS document (Software Requirement Specification) is a document where a company’s understanding of their respective client’s system requirements are documented. This usually happens prior to any design or development work has actually started. This marks as an assurance that both the parties have understood each other’s needs at that point of time. The SRS document will depict only those requirements which are necessary from the project development’s point of view.To derive the requirements we need to have a clear and thorough perspective of the products to be developed or which are being developed.

The functionalities and capabilities of a software system are documented in explicit and precise language. The SRS also acts as a blueprint for completing a project with as minimum cost growth as possible. 

CHARACTERISTICS OF SRS:

In order to avoid the above scenario, following characteristics should be kept in mind while writing a SRS document:

• Accurate

This is the first and foremost requirement. The development team will not reach anywhere if the SRS, which is the basis of the process of software development is inaccurate.

• Complete

A complete requirements specification must precisely define all the situations that will be encountered and the system's responses to them. It should not include any unnecessary features which might not be required by the system.

• Consistent

The document should be consistent throughout. It should be understandable by a user who not involved in the project too.

• Prioritization Of Requirements

The requirements should have a specific order of priority and preference. It should not simply be a wish list.

• Verifiable

A SRS is verifiable if and only if, every requirement stated in the document is verified as per the needs. A requirement is verifiable if, and only if, there exists some finite cost-effective process with which user can check that the software product meets the requirement.

• Modifiable

A SRS document should be written in such a manner that it can adapt the changes given by the development team or the client at any given point of time.

• Unambiguous

A SRS is unambiguous if, and only if, every requirement stated therein has not more than one interpretation.The use of weak phrases or poor sentence structure will lead to misunderstandings.

Conclusion: 

When the client’s requirements are defined completely, only then can one write a SRS document of top notch quality. That coupled with a natural language that incorporates strength and weakness, quality indicators, technical communications, professionals well-trained in requirements gathering, template designs etc are in the best position to create and add value to such critical project documentation.

About Author:
Disha Udani is a consultant in Systems Plus Pvt. Ltd. Within Systems Plus, she actively contributes to the areas of Technology and Information Security. She can be contacted at: disha.udani@spluspl.com