There exists a common misconception among IT leaders and developers alike that functional specs are a waste of time for agile projects.
Agile projects have changed development processes by de-emphasizing the need for functional specs. However, functional specs can be and are, in some cases, just as important to agile projects as they are to traditional development projects.
The Value of Specs
Functional specs add great value to the iterative development process:
- Documented specs streamline the development process and provide an element of discipline to overall development.
- They minimize communication problems and misunderstanding, and they keep everyone involved in the project on track.
- Since all specs must be approved by the client, developers have a good sense that what they are building is what the client wants.
- They address the growing need to document application functionality and draw attention to regulatory requirement/statutes and compliance.
The value of written specs increases in proportion to team size and turnover, geographic distance between team members, and the number of interrelated project pieces. Similarly, if outsourcing...
