Hello,

My name is Joe and I just wanted to introduce myself as well as ask a question.  I've recently interviewed for a position in which the project manager that I'dl be working for asked me to write up a spec on anything of my choosing over the the weekend and turn it into to her on Monday.  I'm a little lost because I don't know where to begin.  I have 8 years business analyst experience but have never formally written a spec on anything.  My duties in the past involved a lot of reporting.  

Can someone here point me in the right direction?  Are there any posts on this site that maybe provide examples of specs... technical or functional.  I'm reaching and hoping someone will pull me in.  Thanks!

 Thanks for your feed back but would you mind explaining a little further.  I may be over thinking this but I've been searching through all of the templates on line regarding SRS's and the such.  It seems that I'm making this task more complicated than it actually is.  As stated my prior duties involved lots of reporting.  Gathering requirements for new report requests and sitting down and developing the report.  Can you provide a little more detail on what you stating?  I'd really appreciate it.

Hi,

Your project manager asked for a "spec" and you have written lots of reporting "requirements". The problem is that that these terms vary by what they specifically mean by organisation: i.e. they mean different things in different companies.

Because of this Business Analysts always need to ask the customers of the material they produce (the project manager in this case) exactly what they are expecting the analysis to produce or what it must accomplish in order to be considered successful. In other words, it is insufficient for your PM to ask for a spec without defining what it needs to contain. As a BA you can challenge and refine that but given you are not comissioning the work (the PM is) then it is the PM's call to define what a "spec" needs to contain or accomplish.

Example: I have worked in organisations where "spec" means lowest level analysis cross referencing process execution logic to logical data attribute/relationship usage. I have also worked in companies where "spec" means defining howrequirements will be manifested in the module code and physical database. For that matter, I have worked in organisations where "spec" means "requirements specification" at the level of listing functional requirements!

That is why you are having problems constructing it and why members of this forum will stuggle to provide you with a template: we don't know what the PM has in mind.

Sorry not to be more help.

Guy