Among the first steps of the digital product development process, creating a project specification is one of the most important. It not only simplifies cooperation with the IT business partner but is also very helpful during the evaluation of the scope of work and the creation of a quote.
Among the first steps of the digital product development process, creating a project specification is one of the most important. It not only simplifies cooperation with the IT business partner but is also very helpful during the evaluation of the scope of work and the creation of a quote.
What a project specification is? It is a document that contains all the key information on functionality and technical data, as well as an overview of the activities, the main objectives of the product, and a list of deadlines. A well-prepared specification greatly improves cooperation and brings many benefits to the entire process. It helps to look at the project from a wider perspective and evaluate for inconsistencies and deficiencies, as well as better understand the needs and business problems of the software.
Why is this important?
Understanding your goals
The specification is important so that your business partner can have a good understanding of the mission of the digital product, as well as your main expectations from it. What do you want to achieve? Why? How? The better your partner can answer these questions, the better the cooperation between the two of you will be, which translates into better results.
Assessment of resources
An extensive technical and functional specification can give you a realistic assessment of the number of resources, time, budget and people involved that are required for the project. This will help you avoid unexpected and unforeseen changes and be well-prepared for what to expect during the development process.
Compatibility
With a detailed specification, you will also be able to conduct a compatibility test between you and your software supplier. You may find that his experience will not be able to meet your expectations, and by clarifying this at the very beginning you will save yourself a lot of time, money, and unnecessary emotions. That’s why it’s important to carefully dissect all functional and technical expectations at the very beginning, when the cooperation is still fresh and when it’s easy to back out.
Estimating the price of the project
Specifications are also extremely important for correct cost estimation. If it is written in an understandable way that leaves no room for free interpretation – such a cost estimate can be prepared very reliably. What is important, however, is that the concept is written out in detail and deepened with issues such as the business context, for example, so that it can be best understood. Make sure that your IT business partner and team, understand everything in the same way. Sometimes what is obvious to us is not to other people.
The key to stability
A specification is a collection of project information that every member of the project has access to. This is a big advantage that provides the project with stability and smoothness because even when changes are made, everyone has a chance to have an overview of the project and get an idea of what’s going on. Especially in the case of long projects, it is very valuable to be able to go through the specifications once in a while and check if the project is following the set path.
Scalability
The project infrastructure should support scalability, so every team member should be involved in the project on the same page. This will allow easy and seamless development of the product.
Faster results
When we don’t have to waste time detailing project issues every step of the way, work on the project goes faster. This is the undoubted benefit of specifying the guidelines in detail at the very beginning. If there were no specifications, the project would probably become chaotic very quickly. With the boundaries of functionality and scope written out, the team will know what borders they shouldn’t cross, and they won’t have trouble prioritizing.
After implementation
Once a project is implemented, the benefits of having good specifications don’t end. It is still beneficial during the process of identifying problems encountered during the work. The specification allows you to learn from the development process and makes it easier to adjust later improvements and modifications.
But what if you were to skip the specification?
If, despite all the benefits, you are still not convinced to create a specification, let us outline some of the consequences of not having one.
- It causes a waste of time because without specifications you will have to frequently revise various issues related to the project.
- In case of confusion, misunderstandings may arise between you and the team and certain functionalities may be implemented differently than you imagined.
- The delivery of the product may become an issue if the results cannot be compared to the documented guidelines.
- There is a greater risk of errors when features are not specified.
- The process gets longer, and with it comes costs.
- You won’t be able to accurately identify problems and errors that occur after implementation without initial assumptions.
Secure yourself
Although preparing a qualitative, detailed specification is not a simple or quick task, its value will reflect on the entire software development process. A properly drafted specification will significantly affect the team’s comfort level, as well as the overall collaboration and its atmosphere. At Applover, we believe that each person involved in a project should have an in-depth knowledge of the product they are preparing, and this is what a specification provides – an understanding of the product and full awareness of its assumptions.
