Hi ,
I have to update customer info in a system. However for each state the information that is captured is a bit different. Hence we have a webservice provided by each state (one for ny , one for was , one for DE and so on). Apart from basic set of first name / lastname / ssn , the input that these system accept vary slightly. This is a design contraint.
The basic system requirement is that the customer information must be captured by the system based upon geographical state. Should the system requirement also state which service needs to be called for which state and what data needs to be passed?
I am facing a lot of confusion on this -
On one hand if I just state that system must capture customer info based on state then it seems to be open ended and incomplete,. I think i need to define the state and also need to specify what information must be passed.
On the other hand , I feel that having different services capturing different fields is a design decision and when defining the requirements the analyst might not have visibility about the solution.
Please let me know which of these is correct.
we make a distinction between functional requirements and business rules.
the functional requirements are the things that the system allows the user to do - enter varying information based on geographic location
The business rules add all sorts of conditions and are more specific, like for texas collect the following information.
In addition, there may be additional functional requirements about allowing your administrators to change those business rules vs. hard coding the business rules.
Short answer - definitely document those.
We define a requirement as anything the stakeholders want or need. As business analysts we have to help the stakeholders determine if they really want or need something - it may be situation dependent
Here is another example, if I need security I might specify exactly which cryptographic algoriithm. In some cases it might actually be a requirement because of government regulation. In other cases I might only be to ensure that user information is encrypted and not specify the exact algorithm. The same requirement might be "design" in one case and a true requirement in another.
Vicky,
What I'd do is create a use case for the funtion you're defining. Then create a class diagram with the information you need for the function. Create one class that holds the data that is the same for each state, then create specialisations for each different state or group of states. That's your functionality and your data. Then create the rules that say which set of data is used when. Then link the main class and your rules to the use case. Job done.
Web services are solution design and I wouldn't include them in your spec.
Kimbo
brought to you by enabling practitioners & organizations to achieve their goals using: