As businesses grow and evolve, they often require new software systems to help them manage their operations. These software systems are complex and require a lot of planning, design, and development. To ensure that the software system meets the needs of the business, a system analyst is responsible for collecting requirements from various stakeholders and creating a document that captures these requirements. This document is commonly known as a software requirements specification (SRS).
An SRS is a technical document that outlines the functional and non-functional requirements of the software system. Functional requirements refer to the features and functionality that the software system must contain, while non-functional requirements refer to performance, security, and other quality attributes that the software system must meet.
Once the system analyst has collected all the relevant requirements from different stakeholders, they will organize and prioritize them in the SRS document. This document will be a guide for the development team, ensuring they build all the necessary features and adhere to the specifications needed to meet stakeholder requirements.
Let's consider a real-life example to explain this process. Suppose a hospital has engaged a technology company to develop a software system to manage patient data, appointments, and medical records. The system analyst will speak to various stakeholders, including medical professionals and hospital administrators, to gather the requirements for the system. From these meetings, the analyst will identify the necessary features and functionalities of the system.
Examples of requirements that could be included in the SRS document for the hospital software system include:
- The software system should be able to handle at least 10,000 patient records.
- The software system should have an appointment scheduling module to manage patient bookings and provider availability.
- The system should allow doctors to update medical information for each patient, including diagnoses, prescription history, and allergies.
- The system should support multiple user roles, including administrators, doctors, and nurses.
To ensure that the development team follows the SRS document, it usually contains sample code snippets. These will help the development team understand the technical requirements and ensure that the system meets the stakeholder’s needs.
For example, the following code snippet could be included in the SRS:
if(patient.records_count > 10000) {
display_error("The system cannot store more than 10,000 patient records.");
}
This code snippet outlines the requirement that the system can only store up to 10,000 patient records. If the number of records exceeds this threshold, an error message should display to alert the user.
Another code snippet that could be included in the SRS is:
if(doctor.role == 'admin') {
display_error("Only administrators can update patient records.");
}
This code snippet outlines the requirement that only administrators should be able to update patient records. If a doctor tries to update a record and they do not have an administrator role, the system should show an error message.
In conclusion, a software requirements specification (SRS) is a critical document that outlines the functional and non-functional requirements of a software system. The SRS is created by a system analyst after gathering requirements from various stakeholders. The document helps the development team to understand what they need to build, and it can contain code snippets to help clarify the technical requirements. An SRS ensures that the software system meets stakeholder requirements and operates as expected.
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System Analysts:
System analysts play a crucial role in designing and developing software systems. They are responsible for gathering, analyzing, and documenting requirements from different stakeholders and translating them into technical specifications. In addition, they must ensure that the software system is user-friendly, efficient, scalable, and meets the organization's needs. They work closely with the development team to ensure that the system is implemented according to the specifications outlined in the software requirements specification (SRS). They also conduct system tests to ensure that the system operates as expected before release.
Software Requirements Specification:
The software requirements specification (SRS) is a technical document that outlines the functional and non-functional requirements of a software system. It serves as a reference that helps the development team understand what they need to build and what features and functionalities the system must contain. The SRS also ensures that the software system meets stakeholder requirements. It should be comprehensive, clear, concise, and precise, and it should include details about the system's architecture, design, and functionality. It may also include code snippets, user interface mock-ups, data flow diagrams, and other illustrations as per requirement.
Code Examples:
Code examples are a crucial part of software requirements specifications as they help the development team understand the technical requirements more explicitly. They provide concrete examples and instructions that help the team know exactly how elements of the system should be coded and implemented. Code examples vary, but typically they involve simple code snippets that illustrate a specific requirement in the system. In some cases, the code examples may include references to specific libraries, programming languages, or other technical tools.
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Popular questions
Sure, here are five questions and answers about the document created by the system analyst after collecting requirements:
-
What is the document created by the system analyst called?
A: The document created by the system analyst is called the software requirements specification (SRS). -
What does the SRS contain?
A: The SRS contains the functional and non-functional requirements of the software system, as well as details about the system's architecture, design, and functionality. It may also include code examples, user interface mock-ups, data flow diagrams, and other illustrations as per requirement. -
Why are code examples important in the SRS?
A: Code examples are essential in the SRS as they help the development team understand the technical requirements of the system more explicitly. They provide concrete examples and instructions that help the team know exactly how the elements of the system should be coded and implemented. -
Who are the stakeholders whose requirements are collected by the system analyst?
A: Various stakeholders may include customers, users, developers, system architects, and managers, depending on the software system's nature and scope. -
What is the purpose of the SRS document?
A: The primary purpose of the SRS document is to guide the development team to build a software system that meets the stakeholders' requirements. It helps ensure that the software system is user-friendly, efficient, scalable, and has the required features and functionalities.
Tag
Specification
