Software Requirements -

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 A complete description of what the
software system will do without
describing how it will do it is
represented by the software
requirements

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IEEE Definition

 A condition or capability that must

be met or possessed by a system...to
satisfy a contract, standard,
specification, or other formally
imposed document
 IEEE Std 729

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Sources of Requirements

 Stakeholders
 People affected in some way by the
system
 Documents
 Existing system
 Domain/business area

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4
Kinds of Software
Requirements
 Functional requirements
 Non-functional requirements
 Domain requirements
 Inverse requirements
 Design and implementation
constraints

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6
Functional Requirements
- 1
 Statements describing what the
system does

 Functionality of the system

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Functional Requirements
- 4
 Functional requirements should be
complete and consistent

 Customers and developers usually

focus all their attention on functional
requirements

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Functional Requirements
Example # 1
 The system shall solve a quadratic
equation using the following formula

x = (-b+sqrt(b2 –
4*a*c))/2*a

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Functional Requirements
Example # 3
 The system shall provide appropriate
viewers for the user to read
documents in the document store

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Comments on Examples

 Notice the ambiguity in the

requirement for solving the quadratic
equation. The requirement does not
speak about the possibility when the
value of ‘a’ is zero

x = (-b+sqrt(b2 –
4*a*c))/2*a

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Comments on Examples

 Incomplete and ambiguous

requirements are open to multiple
interpretations and assumptions

 This can lead to the development of

poor quality, or faulty, software
products

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Non-Functional
Requirements - 1
 Most non-functional requirements
relate to the system as a whole.
They include constraints on timing,
performance, reliability, security,
maintainability, accuracy, the
development process, standards,
etc.

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Non-Functional
Requirements - 2
 They are often more critical than
individual functional requirements
 Capture the emergent behavior of
the system, that is they relate to
system as a whole

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Non-Functional
Requirements -
 For example, if an aircraft system
does not meet reliability
requirements, it will not be certified
as ‘safe’
 If a real-time control system fails to
meet its performance requirements,
the control functions will not operate
correctly

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Non-Functional
Requirements - 5
 Non-functional requirements arise
through user needs, because of
budget constraints, because of
organizational policies, because of
the need of interoperability with
other software and hardware
systems, or because of external
factors such as safety regulations,
privacy legislation, etc.

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Non-Functional
Requirements
Non-Functional
requirements

Product Organizational External

requirements requirements requirements

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 Product Requirements

Product
requirements

Usability Efficiency Reliability Portability

requirements requirements requirements requirements

Performance Space
requirements requirements

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Product Requirements
Examples
 The system shall allow one hundred
thousand hits per minute on the
website
 The system shall not have down time
of more than one second for
continuous execution of one
thousand hours

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Organizational
Requirements
Organizational
requirements

Standards Implementation Delivery

requirements requirements requirements

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Organizational Requirements
Examples
 The system development process
and deliverable documents shall
conform to the MIL-STD-2167A
 Any development work sub-
contracted by the development
organization shall be carried out in
accordance with Capability Maturity
Model

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External Requirements

External
requirements

Interoperability Ethical Legislative

requirements requirements requirements

Privacy Safety
requirements requirements

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External Requirements
Examples
 The system shall not disclose any
personal information about members
of the library system to other
members except system
administrators
 The system shall comply with the
local and national laws regarding the
use of software tools

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Non-Functional Requirements
Discussion
 NFRs are very important to capture the
emergent behavior of the system in
these there major dimensions
 Product
 Usability, reliability, portability, efficiency
(performance, space)
 Organizational
 Standards, implementation, delivery
 External
 Interoperability, ethical, legislative (privacy,
safety)

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Domain Requirements - 1

 Requirements that come from the

application domain and reflect
fundamental characteristics of that
application domain
 These can be both the functional or
non-functional requirements

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Domain Requirements - 2

 These requirements, sometimes, are

not explicitly mentioned
 Domain experts find it difficult to
convey domain requirements
 Their absence can cause significant
dissatisfaction

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Domain Requirements - 3

 Domain requirements can impose

strict constraints on solutions. This
is particularly true for scientific and
engineering domains
 Domain-specific terminology can also
cause confusion

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Domain Requirements - 4

 Example:
In a commission-based sales
businesses, there is no concept of
negative commission. However, if
care is not taken novice developers
can be lured into developing
systems, which calculate negative
commission

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Domain Requirements - 5

 Banking domain has its own specific

constraints, for example, most banks
do not allow over-draw on most
accounts, however, most banks allow
some accounts to be over-drawn

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Inverse Requirements - 1

 They explain what the system shall

not do.
Many people find it convenient to
describe their needs in this manner

 These requirements indicate the

indecisive nature of customers about
certain aspects of a new software
product
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Inverse Requirements - 2

 Example:
The system shall not use red color in
the user interface, whenever it is
asking for inputs from the end-user

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Design and Implementation
Constraints - 1
 They are development guidelines
within which the designer must work
 These requirements can seriously
limit design and implementation
options
 Can also have impact on human
resources

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Design and Implementation
Constraints Examples

 The system shall be developed using

the Microsoft .Net platform

 The system shall be developed using

open source tools and shall run on
Linux operating system

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