Project Documents - SRS

To continue the discussion from the previous post, the "high-level" requirements stated in the SOW are further elaborated in the System Requirements Specification, also known as the SRS document (or SyRS document, since the first acronym is sometimes interpreted as Software Requirements Specification). This document explains the business requirements in a more technical language, though without resorting to geek-speak, making it an ideal reference point both for the client and the development team

There is no fixed template as such for an SRS document, since the size and complexity of a project would determine the amount of information needed and hence the order in which it is arranged. For simple software development projects, this is the template I like to follow:

1  Introduction

2  High Level Scope

 2.1  Included In Project Scope

 2.2  Excluded From Project Scope

3  Overall Requirements Description

 3.1  System Overview Diagram

 3.2  Functional Requirements Specification

  3.2.1  Use Case 1: <transaction 1>

  3.2.2  Use Case 2: <transaction 2>

  3.2.3  Use Case 3: <transaction 3>

  3.2.4  Use Case 4: Master Data Entry

  3.2.5  Use Case 5: Legacy Data Entry

  3.2.6  Use Case 6: Reports

 3.3  Forms Overview

  3.3.1  Master Data Entry Forms

  3.3.2  Transactional Data Entry Forms

 3.4  Reports Overview

 3.5  High Level Database Design

4  Glossary Of Terms

5  Approvals

The Glossary or Definitions section is optional but good to have, as it explains business-specific terms to the development team and coding-specific terms to the client. All the other sections are essential since they establish exactly what the development team needs to deliver in order to meet the client's business requirements and thus make the project successful