Specification creation

Why?

A specification originates from clients’ business goals and resources from one side and users’ needs from the other.

Specification sets:

• to whom, what and why will be created?
• what information already exists?
• what specifically needs to be done to realise the solution?
• how will the final result be assessed?

When an idea or problem arises, it is basically obvious that something needs to be done. But to really create a solution a more specific and comprehensive plan that takes into account all circumstances and variables is needed. A specifications’ purpose is to map and set all this.

A specification document is an integral part of our design and development services. Like a decent house cannot be built without a project, a digital solution cannot be created without a specification.

Service content

When creating a website specification we start our process from our client. We get to know your values, market position and competitors, sales arguments and business goals. We ask what role does the website hold in your marketing and organisations’ activity. We map out the current situation and keep in mind what needs to be achieved. Together we find out if and what needs to be changed or created.

Next we analyse who is the website user and what motivates them. Why and how should the user operate on the website? If possible, we will observe website usage through analysis software to eliminate bottlenecks and discover new opportunities. Based on this information we can later start designing the user experience.

Based on the client and user needs we will describe the functional requirements i.e expected operations from the system. Specific use cases or user stories will be modelled that will be the basis of testing the created web solution.

We will determine the non-functional requirements of the solution i.e. which standards the solution will have to meet (for example user experience and accessibility, code quality, performance, security etc).

We will plan the information architecture and describe the purpose, content types, volume and interconnectedness of the website content.

We will determine what website views and content blocks need to be created and describe their technical functioning.

Every specification is different according to its needs. Some things need more thorough description, for some general principles are enough.

The result of the service is a comprehensive specification document with all related extras that gives an unambiguous overview and estimated workload of the solution. Based on the specification one can order design and development, make a price inquiry or conduct a procurement.