Determine the main business requirements

This article is a continuation of the article “How to design software architecture”.

A business requirements specification (BRS) is a document that lists all the requirements for your project. It should be created before you start work on the project, so it can be used throughout its life cycle to track progress and ensure that everyone involved in the project knows what they need to do to get a successful outcome.

Determine your project’s context

• Determine the main business requirements.
• Define your project’s context.
• Identify the purpose of your project, scope, goals, and objectives that will be achieved by completing it.

Gather business requirements

Business requirements are the specifications for your solution to the business problem. The requirements should be precise and defined so that you can easily understand what they are and why they exist.

The first step in gathering business requirements is understanding the need for them. Then, defining this need helps you determine what kind of solution will best meet it. For example, if you’re building a website for an automotive dealership, there might be several different ways of accomplishing this goal:

• You could create an online forum where customers can post questions about cars or car parts.
• You could develop a mobile app so users can view repair jobs while they travel around town.
• You could design a new website and app together into one project so that customers get better value from their investment in either platform (more on this later).

Identify and validate the significant stakeholders

• Who are the main stakeholders? What is their role in the project? How are they involved in it, and how do you know that you have identified all of them?
• Who is the primary stakeholder for your project (or product)? And who are secondary stakeholders or partners involved in this particular endeavor?

Draw out the business processes

• What is a business process?

A business process is the activities that occur when you do something in your organization, like sell a product or take an order for one. You can think of it as the “flow” through which information moves from input to output in your organization. For example, if we were selling pet supplies, our customers would first contact us about their pets’ needs so that we could provide them with those products and services. Then they’d make an order on our website, which would trigger an email from our salesperson informing them that their order has been received and processed (also known as “fulfilling an order”). This process continues until all charges have been fulfilled successfully — and at this point, we’ve completed all steps required by law to keep track of each item sold within our system!

Examine existing systems, assets, and resources

The first step in establishing your new business is to examine the company’s current state. This will allow you to identify any existing systems, assets, and resources that could be useful for your new venture.

Consider how other businesses use them in the same industry:

• Do they work efficiently?
• Does their technology support what you need it to do? If not, consider how they could be improved to meet your needs better.

If there aren’t any problems with these systems or assets (e.g., if everything functions perfectly), then great — you’ll have plenty going on without having to worry about making changes later on down the line when things get complicated or confusing! But if something isn’t working correctly…then don’t worry about fixing it just yet because things may get worse before they get better as time goes by (and eventually, we’ll come back around again).

List out the non-functional requirements of the system

Non-functional requirements are those that can’t be expressed in technical terms. They include things like usability, security, and reliability.

The main non-functional requirements for your system are:

• Usability — how easy is it for users to use the system?
• Security — does it have adequate protection against attacks or misuse?
• Reliability — does the software work as expected when used by its intended audience (e.g., customers)?

Ensure you have a written document to capture all your findings

This will become your business requirements specification (BRS).

A business requirements specification (BRS) is a document that captures all the critical information about your system, including what the system needs to do and why it needs to do it to meet the company’s objectives. It should be written in a standard format and approved by all stakeholders before being signed off by the project manager.

The BRS should contain:

• The name of each stakeholder who contributed to developing this document.
• A list of their roles within any project team meetings.
• The date when they submitted their input on this issue.
• Their expertise is based on previous experience with similar projects or products/services offered by other companies with similar goals but different approaches toward achieving them.

Conclusion

When you know the main business requirements, it’s easier to identify additional details that will help you meet them. And when your team has a clear view of those requirements, they can work together on a solution that works!

If you have questions or comments about this article, please leave them below, and we will get back to you as soon as possible. Thanks!

This article is a continuation of the article “How to design software architecture”.

My other publications: https://ercindedeoglu.github.io/