How to make Functional Requirements?

Functional Requirements – the documentation from which a quality product begins (taking into account the fact that the FR itself is executed according to the established rules). If it is incorrectly designed, the result will be appropriate. Our team will help you understand how to work through this moment and get the most out of it. Taking into account the interests of the target audience of our service and general trends, we will talk about the functional requirements for digital products, but for a better understanding there will be examples from offline areas.

Drawing up Functional Requirements is an important stage in working on a specific project. Such installations existed long before the advent of the World Wide Web and successfully migrated to the digital world. We tried to take into account all the subtleties of creating a technical plan and share all the secrets.

What are the functional requirements for?

You need to understand that the FR has almost the same value as a legal act, while securing the duties and rights of the customer and the employee. Roughly speaking, this is an instruction for the executor of the final product. However, it defines the specific requirements and wishes of the client for each stage of the project creation. FR allows us to make cooperation safe and comfortable for both parties. When every detail, even the most insignificant, is indicated in the assignment, everything is arranged as needed, and the workers perform their duties, there is a minimum of space for fraud and delusion.

A specific and correctly formulated requirement is the first step towards a high-quality result, the basis of simple and complex systems. In each situation, the schemes of functioning must be worked out to the ideal. The creator must predict any action of the performer and provide him with useful information in his briefing.

How to start drawing up a competent functional requirement? What exactly needs to be added to the script depends on the product. If you order the sewing of a batch of shoes, then you will need to indicate the features of the cut, the type of material and their quality, right up to the approximate structure of the surface of the fittings. The same applies to the creation of sites, texts or videos – step-by-step scripts are needed everywhere.

Pros of FR:

1. A carefully drawn up functional requirement, where every detail is indicated, will not leave room for the subjective opinion of the performer. This, of course, will save not only your personal time, but also costs. After all, constant adjustments take many hours of the work process, and sometimes they need additional payment when the task is described in general terms and it is interpreted in different ways.
2. The technical scenario gives only a positive result and will definitely pay off the time spent on it. Working out the functional requirement allows you to better consider the task from the outside and understand all the pitfalls of its implementation.
3. With the help of the functional requirement, you will undoubtedly get a quality product at the end. When the plan is drawn up correctly, then the contractor adheres to it, and any inaccuracies are corrected at no additional cost.

This preparatory event is of great importance, so turn a blind eye to it. If you cannot draw up a functional requirement on your own, then it is better to hire a qualified specialist who will save time and money.

How to make АК: basic rules

A confusing and incomprehensible requirement immediately shows the level of unprofessionalism of the company or customer. This becomes a reason for refusing to work even for beginner IT developers or specialists in other areas. Therefore, it is worth working out all the nuances in advance. In a reasonable understanding of the right cooperation, the customer and the contractor work together. That is, you throw in a draft with a description of the main criteria for a future project. In the future, this documentation becomes the main normative act for the final work. Most of the content creation is done by the performer.

The technical scenario itself should contain the following points:

• introductory information;
• grounds for creating a specific product;
• essence of the project;
• conditions for the quality of the product;
• requirements for documents accompanying the work performed;
• technical and economic parameters;
• the order and stages of the workflow;
• the procedure for checking and accepting the project;
• annexes with additional information about FR: what is special the product should have, individual requests and wishes.

A qualified project manager perfectly understands the stages of work on creating a website, so he is much better and more detailed in drawing up a requirement for a developer than a business project owner. An IT specialist can suggest his edits and ask questions. After agreeing on all the details, the FR is approved and its direct use. Study the rules of script writing or hire an experienced specialist, no matter which path you choose – the main thing is the result!

Who should draw up the functional requirements: the customer or the contractor?

In theory, the development of a work manual can be framed by anyone. But for a high-quality final product, the main rule is experience. After all, a web developer understands the process of creating a website better than a director of a restaurant or a diagnostic center. The project manager is exactly the one who understands all the nuances and knows how the preparation of the functional requirement is carried out. With its help, you can not only get a work plan, but also understand the competence of the developer. Of course, the customer can also draft his own version of the FR. Perhaps this will speed up the process of developing the final scenario, or vice versa, slow it down and only create more problems …

What are the functional requirements: summing up?

We went through the basic rules for developing a scheme for high-quality work of any specialist. The main advantages of FR:

• versatility;
• reliability;
• elimination of conflicts and misunderstandings between the customer and the contractor.

Now you understand how important the correct functional requirement is for the final result. Work on yourself, pump your skills and then you can draw up a competent work plan. The FR will never turn out right the first time, but you shouldn’t give up because of this. If you want to save time, effort and nerves, then you need help from intelligent specialists, whom are lots of on the Internet.