How to Determine Software Requirements

If you're a programmer and you've been asked to write or design a software program, then you'll be faced with trying to determine what the software is supposed to do. This article shows what questions to ask for determining the software requirements.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

1. What is the problem?
   Ask your client/customer why they need to have the software written. What problem will this software solve? Will it make their job easier? Will it reduce costs? Is this replacing other software? If yes, why? If no, then is it replacing a paper based process? What is the process that they want to replace? These questions will start the process for defining the requirements.
2. What is the target environment?
   Very vital for designing software is knowing what systems will the software need to run on. Will it be used on Microsoft Windows, Apple OS X, Linux, Hand-helds, or a combination of these? Is it for stand-alone use, or does the software need to be shared across a local or wide area network? How many people will need to use the software - tens, hundreds, thousands? Does it need to be internet based? These type of questions will help you know what type of complexities the software will need to handle. Such as multiple users, security issues, and type of hardware needed to support it.
3. What should the software look like?
   This is a very important question! A related question is, who will be using this software? If the target users are programmers or computer professionals, then they will be quite comfortable with complex screens and lots of information being displayed. However, if the target users jobs are not computer related (law enforcement, health care, retail sales, etc.), then you need to plan on making your software very easy to use and understandable for non-technical users.
4. Does the software need to print reports and/or forms?
   Providing important and readable information is very key to many software applications. If your software is to provide printed media, then find out if there are existing forms and reports that you can duplicate in your software.
5. Will the software share information with other software?
   If you need to link your software with other applications then it's important to find out how the other software expects to see that information. What format should it be in? What communication links need to be in place to share the information?

Tips & Warnings

• Become the potential user for awhile! If your software is to be used by a business, then spend some time observing how the business operates. Put yourself into the role of the target software user. If it's a truck driver making deliveries - ride along for a day or two and see how they do their job. There might be issues that they run into that your initial questions did not cover.