One of the biggest problems of modern software development is making technical specifications fit business expectations. This is a crucial task if it is necessary to implement the concepts, processes, and applications in the practical dimension effectively, despite the results having to be virtual, software, or physically tangible, hardware.
Business people have business goals & KPIs
Developers have technical specifications and frameworks
How does one help them meet?
We have to deal with a range of limitations such as laws of physics, boundaries in upscaling computational capacity, or technical unavailability to rewrite the applications on the go. Until we succeed in learning how to cross such restrictions, we will always deal with slight hitches in the process of software production. However, steering these limitations along with the deployment of down-to-earth business requirements as a guiding landmark is an efficient instrument to reach pay dirt.
If you know a thing or two about software project management or you have ever been engaged in the process of software production, you might be already aware of the challenges arising in front of a development team, project managers, and, indeed, – customers.
The main problem is that the idea, delivered by the client, which reflects his vision of the future product, may be significantly transformed throughout the development process and, finally, the result may surprise the customer by being completely different from what he expects to get.
Besides, what is more important, the understanding of the concept, provided by the client at the first set-out, doesn’t necessarily mean it is the same as what the client means. This discrepancy often arises from various factors, including miscommunication, evolving project requirements, and technical limitations.
Stakeholders might interpret the initial idea differently, leading to diverse implementations and features that were not originally envisaged. Additionally, as the development team delves deeper into the project, they might identify more efficient ways to achieve the desired outcome, thereby altering the original plan. Consequently, maintaining regular and clear communication is crucial in ensuring that the end product aligns closely with the client’s initial vision and expectations.
The oddity of such situations is demonstrated in the cartoon pictures, which show how the everyday software production project looks. In a nutshell, let’s say, the vendor understands that the customer orders a regular wooden bench for his garden, and this is where the initial concept starts being ruined:
- A project leader, tending to simplifications, understands that the client wants to get a single wooden chair instead of a bench.
- In turn, the engineer designs it more as a teeter-totter.
- The software developer creates a bench, but you can’t sit on it as it is sloping.
- At the same time, a sales executive describes it as an extremely soft lounge chair.
- Talking about the documentation of the project, we see the garden, but there is no bench at all. Regarding the helpdesk, we see the garden, and we see only a few planks. But finally, you figure out that the client didn’t mean a wooden bench – he wanted a hammock!
Question #1: It Is Practical and Functional?
To begin with, it’s essential to write down each business need and ensure everyone in the discussion can determine if the goal is practical. Sometimes, people want things like a heavy metal bench with porcelain legs, an outdoor lounge chair for rainy autumn, or a hammock without any trees in the garden.
Such differences highlight the need for the team to reassess the task’s purpose and feasibility. You can’t change natural laws or avoid weather events, so it’s vital to analyze unrealistic conditions and choose the most viable scenario.
In software development, unrealistic conditions often relate to computational limits or storage capacity. For instance, if your video processing startup needs to compress and store many large video files instantly, this task is nearly impossible with current digital technology.
Another important question is whether the application works. To check its functionality, you need to convert business requirements into functional opportunities. However, even a perfect list of functional requirements can stray from the original concept requested by the customer. Your operational model can be highly productive, but it may differ significantly from what the client expects.
Speaking about the garden bench, you can design it to be made of solid cast iron, so the wind or heavy rain won’t ruin it. Moreover, you can even integrate some sort of automatic mechanism to adjust the height of the bench according to the height of the person who will sit on it. You can even tack some wheels on the legs of the bench to make it transportable.
However, after all these modifications you may leave out of account a few things having nothing in common with practicality but without which the customer can’t imagine his future bench – the material of the bench must have the romantic wooden smell and natural grain.