Bill Fernandez wrote: >...I just received from a client... an early draft of a document titled >"functional spec for..."
Joseph Selbie wrote: >...what you are describing here as a "functional spec", sounds an >awful lot like the first iteration of the use cases we encounter in many >companies. > >The use cases we've been involved with start with a description of what the >user needs to be able to do -- regardless of where or how that will be >accomplished in the application. As the use cases iterate, they become more >specific and eventually include field level accuracy. > >I know that use case definitions and methods for developing them vary widely >across companies that employ them, but the functional spec sure sounds like >the same approach. BF: I think use cases and functional specs (at least as I use the term) are two approaches to describing what the product must do, prior to figuring out (designing) how to do it. My impression is that functional specs tend to be lists of functions (e.g. "log in", "log out"), whereas use case sets tend to be lists of tasks with the steps needed to accomplish them (e.g. "View Account History: 1 log in, 2 navigate to account history facility, 3 specify date range, 4 view resulting list of transactions", etc.). It is also my impression that use case sets often end up being used as the skeletons for both engineering and UI designs, and for product testing -- in which cases they morph over time (as you describe above). BF: I also think that different people/organizations use these terms in different ways. The important thing to me is that, whatever tools/docs/terms we use, I am able to work productively and effectively with the necessary constituencies (e.g. engineering, marketing, management) and maximize the extent to which my expertise is appropriately utilized in creating the best possible products. I have always found that some form of synchronization of expectations is key, and that exactly what form this takes varies between clients and projects. -- ====================================================================== Bill Fernandez * User Interface Architect * Bill Fernandez Design (505) 346-3080 * bf_list1 AT billfernandez DOT com * http://billfernandez.com ====================================================================== ________________________________________________________________ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ....... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe ................ http://gamma.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines ............ http://gamma.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .................. http://gamma.ixda.org/help
