Editing Software requirements specification (section)

{{broader|Software requirements}}
{{short description|Description of a software system to be developed}}
{{IEEE software documents}}
A '''software requirements specification''' ('''SRS''') is a description of a [[software system]] to be  [[Software development|developed]]. It is modeled after the [[Business requirements|business requirements specification]] [[Concept of operations|(CONOPS)]]. The software requirements specification lays out [[Functional requirement|functional]] and [[non-functional requirements]], and it may include a set of [[use case]]s that describe user interactions that the software must provide to the user for perfect interaction.

Software requirements specifications establish the basis for an agreement between customers and contractors or suppliers on how the software product should function (in a market-driven project, these roles may be played by the marketing and development divisions). Software requirements specification is a rigorous assessment of requirements before the more specific system design stages, and its goal is to reduce later redesign. It should also provide a realistic basis for estimating product costs, risks, and schedules.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.computer.org/portal/web/swebok/v3guide |title=Guide to the Software Engineering Body of Knowledge (SWEBOK) |access-date=17 July 2014 |publisher=IEEE Computer Society |date=2014 |first1=P. |last1=Bourque |first2=R.E. |last2=Fairley |archive-date=28 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141228080106/http://www.computer.org/portal/web/swebok/v3guide |url-status=dead }}</ref> Used appropriately, software  requirements specifications can help prevent software project failure.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://belitsoft.com/php-development-services/software-requirements-specification-helps-protect-it-projects-failure |title=Software requirements specification helps to protect IT projects from failure |access-date=19 December 2016}}</ref>

The software requirements specification document lists sufficient and necessary requirements for the project development.<ref name=Pressman>{{cite book|last=Pressman|first=Roger|title=Software Engineering: A Practitioner's Approach|year=2010|publisher=McGraw Hill|location=Boston|isbn=9780073375977|pages=123}}</ref> To derive the requirements, the developer needs to have a clear and thorough understanding of the products under development. This is achieved through detailed and continuous communications with the project team and customer throughout the software development process.

The SRS may be one of a contract's [[deliverable]] [[data item descriptions]]<ref>
{{cite web
 |url        = http://www.everyspec.com/DATA-ITEM-DESC-DIDs/DI-IPSC/DI-IPSC-81433A_3709/
 |title      = DI-IPSC-81433A, DATA ITEM DESCRIPTION SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS SPECIFICATION (SRS) 
 |date       = 1999-12-15
 |publisher  = everyspec.com
 |access-date = 2013-04-04
}}</ref> or have other forms of organizationally-mandated content.

Typically a SRS is written by a [[technical writer]], a [[systems architect]], or a [[software programmer]].<ref>
Donn Le Vie, Jr.
[https://techwhirl.com/writing-software-requirements-specifications/ "Writing Software Requirements Specifications (SRS)"].
2010.
</ref>