Vision Document

• Combines into a single document abstract of both a marketing

requirements document and a product requirements document
• Describes the application in general terms, including
descriptions of the target market, the users of the system, and
Software Requirements Engineering the features of the application
• The single most important document in a software project,
captures the needs of the user, the features of the system, and
other common requirements for the project.
• The scope extends over the top two levels of the requirements
Week 8 pyramid, thereby defining at a high level of abstraction both the
problem and the solution
• The primary focus in the early phases of the project, and any
investment made in the process of gathering the information
will pay handsome returns in later phases

Contents Introduction
• 1. Introduction • 4. Feature Attributes • Purpose of the Vision Document
– 1.1. Purpose of the Vision Document • 5. Product Features
– 1.2. Product Overview • 6. Key Use Cases
– Collect, analyze, and define high level user needs and product features
– 1.3. References • 7. Other Product Requirements • Product Overview
• 2. User Description – 7.1. Applicable Standards
– 2.1. User/Market Demographics – Identify the product or application to be created or enhanced
– 7.2. System Requirements
– 2.2. User Profiles – 7.3. Licensing and Installation – Provide a general description of what the product will and, if necessary
– 2.3. User Environment – 7.4. Performance Requirements will not do
– 2.4. Key User Needs • 8. Documentation Requirements
– 2.5. Alternatives and Competition
– Describe the application of the product, including its relevant benefits,
– 8.1. User Manual goals, and objectives
• 3. Product Overview – 8.2. Online Help
– 3.1. Product Perspective – 8.3. Installation Guides, Configuration, • References
– 3.2. Product Position Statement and Read Me Files
– 3.3. Summary of Capabilities – 8.4. Labeling and Packaging
– A list of documents referenced
– 3.4. Assumptions and Dependencies • 9.0 Glossary – Specify the sources from which the references can be obtained
– 3.5. Cost and Pricing

1
 User description User description
• This section profiles the intended users of the application
and the key problems that limit the users productivity • Key User Needs
• User/Market Demographics – List the key problems or needs as perceived by the user
– Describe target-market segment – Clarify the following issues for each problem
– Estimate the market’s size and growth • What are the reasons for this problem?
– Review major industry trends and technologies • How is it solved now?
• User Profiles • What solutions does the user envision?
– Divergent user types; for each type
• Technical background and degree of sophistication • Alternatives and Competition
• Key responsibilities – Identify alternatives the user perceives as available
• Deliverables the user produces and for whom
• Problems that interfere with success
– List down competitive choices
• User definition of success and how the user is rewarded – Major strength and weaknesses of each competitor
• User Environment
– Detail working environment of the target user

Product Overview
• This section provides a high-level • Summary of Capabilities
view of the product capabilities, – Summarize the major benefits and features the product will provide.
interfaces to other applications, For (target customer)
and systems configurations – Organize the features so that the list is understandable to the
• Product Perspective Who (statement of the need or customer or to anyone else reading the document for the first time
– Independent, self-contained or a opportunity) – Customer Benefit Supporting Features
component of a system – Benefit 1 Feature
The (product is a (product category)
– How systems interact and what – Benefit 2 Feature
name)
are the relevant interfaces – Benefit 3 Feature
• Product Position Statement That (statement of key benefit, that is, • Assumptions and Dependencies
– Provide an overall statement compelling reason to buy)
summarizing, at the highest level, – List of assumptions that, if changed, will alter the vision for the
the unique position the product product
intends to fill in the marketplace Unlike (primary competitive alternative)
• Cost and Pricing
Our product (statement of primary – Record any cost and pricing constraints that are relevant
differentiation)

2
 Features attributes
• Product Features
• Describe the feature attributes that will be used to evaluate, – List features
track, prioritize, and manage the features. – Each feature provides a service that fulfills a user need
• Status: Proposed, Approved, Incorporated – Abstract level (25-99 features)
• Key Use Cases
• Priority: Cumulative vote results; order ranking, or – Describe a few key use cases, perhaps those that are architecturally
Critical, Important, Useful significant or those that will most readily help the reader understand how
the system is intended to be used
• Effort: Low, Medium, High; team-weeks; or • Other Product Requirements
person-months – Applicable Standards
• Risk: Low, Medium, High • List all standards the product must comply with.
– System Requirements
• Stability: Low, Medium, High • Define any system requirements necessary to support the application.
• Target release: Version number – Licensing and Installation
• Describe any installation requirements that also affect coding or that create the
• Assigned to: Name need for separate installation software.
– Performance Requirements
• Reason: Text field, Source of requested feature • Detail performance requirements

• Documentation Requirements
– Describe the documentation that must be developed to support
successful application deployment
– User Manual
• Describe the purpose and contents of the product user manual
– Online Help
Q&A
• Requirements for online help, tool tips, and so on
– Installation Guides, Configuration, and Read Me Files
• Installation instruction
• What is new with this release
– Labeling and Packaging
• Copy write notices, corporate logos, icons
• Glossary