The importance of software requirements

“Working software over comprehensive documentation” is a statement that is part of the Agile Manifesto. At a quick glance, this statement may insinuate that documentation isn’t required or worthy when creating software. However, this is a mistake to think that. What this statement implies is that it is all about striking a balance. We do not want developers or software engineers spending their valuable time creating onerous documentation. But we do need them to capture information that is practical, informative, quantifiable, and fits within the agile philosophy.

When it comes to creating software for a new product this couldn’t be more important. How will the software engineers know what to create if there aren’t correctly documented requirements? How will the test engineers verify the software is operating as originally intended? How will the project managers know when the software is completed without having a set of requirements to work toward?

Firstly, let’s recap what requirements are in terms of software development.