How can I learn about writing project specs?

Question

I recently read through Code Complete, and it recommends that I create a project specification before actually coding.

The book didn't go very far into detail about what 'specs' are, and how they are made. Because this is a crucial part of software development, I would like to know how to create quality specs that are not too exhaustive.

Where can I learn more about software specifications? Or any of the other prerequisites outlined in Code Complete?

Answer 1

Here's Joel's article on Function Design documents.

http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/fog0000000036.html

Answer 2

Joel Spolsky posted the functional spec to his CoPilot application along with a brief blog post about it. http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/AardvarkSpec.html

Answer 3

If you are looking for books, I can recommend two right now, and in fact, I ordered a third because it looked good.

The two I can recommend fully are:

• Software Requirements (2nd Edition)
• More about Software Requirements

I also ordered a third book:

• Software Requirements Patterns