Do we want a design requirements document as well? I have a tendency to get slightly mixed up between functional requirements, constraints, and design requirements.
I have not been able to find an existing design requirements document for the visitor GUI as spec'd for the Canford students, but can someone confirm whether we do or don't have one please?
Design requirements document?
Re: Design requirements document?
Hamish,
There isn't really any such thing as a 'Design Requirements Document' in the standard engineering approach. Various organisations have come up with various specialist documents over the years (the US DoD were particularly good at this), but usually a Requirements Specification (already discussed), a Design Specification, an Implementation or Installation Specification and a User Manual were the normal progression.
(An Implementation Specification is quite rare and for hardware, wouldn't be needed, because Engineering Drawings did that job.) Software Projects often have an Installation Specification (most of mine do), to allow someone else to replicate the system at a later date and the User Manual if any User instructions or maintenance is envisaged in the coming years.
The Design Specification for software details the software environment, the tools used to develop the project and the software components. What I did for the original Bells and Webserver Installation is one example of this.
As it happens, the full engineering model is somewhat over the top for the Model Town, so over the years I've gradually come round to producing a 'Composite Document', containing Design, Installation and Maintenance. However, the OU may expect something a bit more segmented.
To be fair, the full 'nine yards' approach is only really useful when there are fairly large projects with multi-disciplinary teams. This allows the hardware people to be concerned with hardware design and drawings and the software people then only have to worry about the software design and installation. User Manuals are for users as the name implies and tend to focus on control and monitoring of the finished product and maintenance (eg removal and replacement) of hardware modules.
Hope that helps.
There isn't really any such thing as a 'Design Requirements Document' in the standard engineering approach. Various organisations have come up with various specialist documents over the years (the US DoD were particularly good at this), but usually a Requirements Specification (already discussed), a Design Specification, an Implementation or Installation Specification and a User Manual were the normal progression.
(An Implementation Specification is quite rare and for hardware, wouldn't be needed, because Engineering Drawings did that job.) Software Projects often have an Installation Specification (most of mine do), to allow someone else to replicate the system at a later date and the User Manual if any User instructions or maintenance is envisaged in the coming years.
The Design Specification for software details the software environment, the tools used to develop the project and the software components. What I did for the original Bells and Webserver Installation is one example of this.
As it happens, the full engineering model is somewhat over the top for the Model Town, so over the years I've gradually come round to producing a 'Composite Document', containing Design, Installation and Maintenance. However, the OU may expect something a bit more segmented.
To be fair, the full 'nine yards' approach is only really useful when there are fairly large projects with multi-disciplinary teams. This allows the hardware people to be concerned with hardware design and drawings and the software people then only have to worry about the software design and installation. User Manuals are for users as the name implies and tend to focus on control and monitoring of the finished product and maintenance (eg removal and replacement) of hardware modules.
Hope that helps.
Terry
Re: Design requirements document?
Thank you, that was very helpful.
I agree that the full spread is probably overkill for the model town. I guess this can go into the lifecycle model I have to develop.
I guess what I'm talking about is the Design Specification. Did we ever create one for the visitor GUI project? If not I guess I can start on that as well, and use the old minster bells spec as a template of sorts for formatting and structure.
I agree that the full spread is probably overkill for the model town. I guess this can go into the lifecycle model I have to develop.
I guess what I'm talking about is the Design Specification. Did we ever create one for the visitor GUI project? If not I guess I can start on that as well, and use the old minster bells spec as a template of sorts for formatting and structure.
Hamish
Re: Design requirements document?
Hamish,
No, we only produced the original requirements for the Canford boys to work from.
No, we only produced the original requirements for the Canford boys to work from.
Terry
Re: Design requirements document?
Okay, I shall produce a draft Design Specification as well then as part of the planning.
Hamish