What is requirements documentation?
Writing text and diagrams to describe requirements and the solution at different levels of detail.
What are the two documentation styles in requirements engineering?
• Text-based – requirements catalogues or user stories
• Diagrammatic – visual models of the system.
What is text-based documentation?
Requirements written as catalogues or user stories.
• Catalogues → used in linear projects
• User stories → used in Agile
• Diagrams may support the text.
What information is included in a requirements catalogue?
Requirement ID, name, description, type, priority, rationale, stakeholders, owner, author, source, business area, acceptance criteria, related requirements/documents, comments, resolution, version history, associated non-functional requirements.
What is diagrammatic documentation and why is it useful?
Using visual models (e.g., process models, activity diagrams, use cases, data models) to show the system and confirm scope more clearly.
What factors determine how detailed requirements should be?
• Stage of analysis
• Nature of the solution
• Priority of the requirement
• Delivery approach (bespoke needs more detail than off-the-shelf).
What are user stories and how are they structured?
Short requirements written from a user perspective, mainly used in Agile.
Format:
As a (user role)
I want (feature)
So that (benefit).
What are the 3Cs of user stories and where are they stored?
• Card – brief written story
• Conversation – discussion to clarify
• Confirmation – acceptance criteria confirm completion
User stories are stored in the product backlog with priority and story points.
What is a use case model and what does it show?
A diagram of functional requirements showing actors interacting with system functions (use cases).
What are the main elements of a use case diagram?
• Actors – external users/systems/time
• Use cases – system functions (verb + noun)
• System boundary – box showing system scope
• Associations – lines linking actors and use cases.
What are «include» and «extend» relationships in use cases?
• Include – a required shared use case
• Extend – optional behaviour added to another use case.
What information is included in a use case description?
Actor, use case name/ID, goal, main steps, and alternative scenarios or exceptions.
What is a class model and what is it used for?
A diagram showing system data (classes) and their relationships. Another technique is an Entity Relationship Diagram (ERD).
What are the main elements of a class model?
• Class – entity (singular noun)
• Attributes – data fields
• Operations – actions/functions
• Associations – relationships
• Multiplicity – number of relationships
• Generalisation & inheritance – class hierarchy.
What is a product backlog and how can it be developed?
A prioritised list of requirements/user stories in Agile. It may include:
general/technical requirements, context diagram, use case diagram, user stories, non-functional requirements, and data model.
What is included in a Business Requirements Document (BRD)?
• Introduction/background
• Business process models
• Functional models
• Data model
• Requirements catalogue or user story backlog
• Glossary.
