A handbook for software development teams and their managers
Many developers don’t speak to users or collaborate with the business — instead, they take direction from email threads and poorly written tickets. Remote, outsourced and offshore developers know this only too well. Even with better access to people, these developers would struggle to navigate organisational complexity, political decision-making, and siloed systems.
This handbook is written for development teams and their managers who need to write excellent software and delight users. It explains when software development works best, what happens when your team can’t work like that, and provides practical advice to address common pitfalls.
Contents
Introduction
When software development works best, why it goes wrong, and what developers really need
Gathering Requirements
How to discover and capture what needs to be built without falling into common traps
Writing Requirements
What to include in requirements so developers can work effectively without getting blocked
Reviewing Requirements
How to develop requirements as a team through structured review sessions
Implementing Requirements
How developers work most effectively and what good requirements enable
Special Considerations
User interfaces, remote development, neurodiverse developers, and agile transformations
Related Articles
Functional vs Non-Functional Requirements
What’s the difference, why it matters, and how to document both types effectively. Includes practical examples and common mistakes to avoid.
How to Write Software Requirements for Agile Teams
Agile teams need requirements—just different ones. Learn the right level of detail, when to be prescriptive, and how to adapt to your team’s context.
Software Requirements for Offshore Development
Why offshore teams need more structure, not less. How to write requirements that work across time zones, languages, and communication barriers.
Get the Book
This handbook is also available as a Kindle book on Amazon.
Better Software Requirements on Amazon
About the Author
I’m Frank Ray, owner of Better Software UK. I’m a software engineer, business analyst, and expert witness specialising in IT and software development disputes.
Remote, outsourced and offshore development is difficult to do well, and my time in enterprise software development teams, firstly as a hands-on developer and then as a business analyst, clearly showed me this.
I’m the creator of the Better Software Booster and the author of Better Software Requirements, and I work directly with struggling development teams. For over 20 years, I have dedicated my professional life to improving software development.
Learn more: About Frank | Expert Witness