

Ask HN: Writing a good spec - opminion

Any tips, experiences, successes or failures in writing a specification for a small software project, for internal use?<p>I've heard of folks writing a user guide before writing the program. There must be a myriad creative ways of nailing down a good spec (and a gazillion ways of writing a bad one).
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wslh
1\. Identify risks

2\. Have a rough idea of the UI and workflow

3\. Events: user events, external events, timers

4\. Data details

5\. How 2,3,4 interact

6\. Deployment and upgrades (mainly if it is a desktop application)

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logn
Have actual priorities. I remember implementing a spec with several hundred or
maybe thousands of req's and all but about 3 were marked High priority.

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petervandijck
1\. Don't make it too long. If you're inexperienced, keep it even shorter.

2\. Discuss it with the developers halfway through, then revise.

3\. Use screen mockups/wireframes.

