When an App Requirements Document Is (or Isn’t) Necessary

It could well turn out to be one of those passion journeysю Stimulating in experience—from the mere idea of an application to its very creation.

Without guiding principles, that might turn out to be a heap of misunderstandings.

An ARD is necessary and more often turns to be a helpful asset.

The document is a step-by-step guide to direct your team in following a certain development process. Whether a project requires a document of this type is open to question.

This would largely depend upon the nature of a project, the composition of a team, and your objectives.

Now, let’s go on to some case scenarios

This topic covers a few scenarios where you might want to write an Architecture Review Document—or ARD abbreviation—but also looks at cases when you probably shouldn’t bother writing one.

And lastly, we will show you how you can make an informed decision on the best way forward in your case, so that you are better equipped to set off with the information you need to act.

What is an App Requirements Document?

A detailed specification can be viewed as a comprehensive master plan detailing the required skeleton of your application, with great attention paid to its core purpose and several other technological features accompanying it.

In simpler terms, it serves as some sort of extended guide or manual that makes clear with perfect clarity the exact direction in which the project should proceed, hence helping the developers and designers to navigate through the complexities of the job.

What are the common elements that an ARD includes?

Here’s a snapshot of what you’ll usually find:

• The aim of the text: Summarizes in comprehensive detail the main objectives and particular indicators relating to the application under discussion: What is, after all, the general objective of this application? For whom?
• Core Features and Functionality: Mentions, in detail, the various types of functionalities of the application; it states precisely what the application will be able to perform and gives insight into how it would work. These understandings will be elaborated by including user stories giving scenarios of practical use.
• Technical specifications: This involves stating the platforms used, the programming language, APIs, and the integrations.
• Design specifications: Provides the look and feel through wireframes, mock-ups, or a visual design guide.
• The project timeline and budget: Spells out the important milestones and financial estimates that keep everybody on board, going in and coordinating with each other.

The various features to be outlined and presented by the ARD for a particular application, say one like Airbnb, range from all the details in finding properties, the entirety of the booking processes involved, to the management of the accounts by hosts.

When You are Placed into an ARD

Some of the situations in life just cannot afford to miss an ARD at any cost, so hereby find a few:

1. Multi-million-pound projects involving several parties

When the tasks are complicated, multi-dimensional, and involve many stakeholders—for example, building a social network site or any financial technology application—an Architecture Requirements Document, or ARD as it is often known, becomes vital.

● Example: Amongst all the popularly used applications present in the market, Salesforce mobile is one of them; the company has integrated various different enterprise systems that give updates in real time to their respective valued customers.

It is basically important in making quicker and effective decisions in the fast-moving business environment.

This attribute also has general appeal: it speaks to the various kinds of audiences that have different and varied tastes and preferences.

Without a well-articulated written document on the project requirement, it just becomes well-nigh impossible on the part of all the stakeholders involved—the clients, the product managers, and the developers themselves—to have a mutual concurrence on what to expect on the success metrics and wanted outcomes of the project.

2. Distributed/outsourced teams

An Account Relationship Director bridges that gap in communication—that is always there, whether your teams are spread across locations across the globe or whether it is with outsourced partners.

● Example: All contributors should, therefore, know the need for application development in real ways when it comes to the development of a Slack-like platform for real-time messaging along with integrations with third-party tools.

Poorly developed communication coupled with less documentation of papers translates to highly expensive errors and huge delay times in project development.

3. Licensed Trade Activities and Operations

It also plays a major role in ensuring that applications used in some of the most controlled industries, such as health, lawyers, and finance, continue to meet the set regulations that manage and control such industries.

● Example: One such example could be the MyChart application, which is specially created and designed for documenting and managing different types of patient information and data depicting their current health status.

The development of such an application will have to be done strictly in compliance with the rigid standards HIPAA has laid down for the United States.

Along with that, the documentation of the application must also be done with utmost care so that it justifies and maintains the most rigid standards regarding security and privacy. In this way, it will leave no ambiguity as to what is expected from the developer and how he is supposed to proceed and comply with every step.

When You Can Skip the ARD

Not all projects require formal ARD; it is for this that a lightweight version would be adequate in the following cases:

1. Small or petty projects

What you need, for developing a minimum viable product or a limited application, is a lean requirement document.

● Example: Early Instagram was very simple—photo sharing, basic filtering, no heavy lifting in ARD required; the founders likely sketched out designs and features very fast.

2. Internal Prototypes

Writing too elaborative and overly intricate content, as if it is really trying too hard to impress, especially in developing an internal tool or making a prototype for a response; it may well drastically lower the overall productivity level of an individual.

● Example: Just think of the very first Google Keep—a note-taking application. They must have had some mediocre ideas, took it through internal testing, and then made it into what it is today.

3. Groups of Advanced Developers Who Can Adapt Dynamically

If Agile is practised by your team, then rigorous documentation says goodbye. Instead, it makes use of dynamic backlogs with continued communications.

● Example: This particular process, however, for the platform Spotify would mean that all that has to do with an application needs to be constantly looked at afresh and changed.

In this context, the behaviors of the users within the cycle become pertinent to build up and influence the responses found. A static ARD is also not supported in an iterative approach; rather, one should prepare a dynamic plan and change it.

Deciding Whether You Need an ARD

More to that, ARD creations depend on several factors, especially in regard to project and team complications; several of them depend on:

• Does the project deal with huge complexity: A high number of stakeholders, functionalities, or integrations?
• Who’s on your team: Are you using an in-house development team inside your organization, or do you tend to outsource the work to contractors that specialize in the field?
• Would you need to follow any type of standards and regulations: Is there any type of regulations or industry standards that may apply to your application in any way whatsoever?
• What is your methodology of development: Agile or Waterfall?
• What are some of the possible risks which might happen in light of the delays and overrunning of the estimates in budgets, resulting from miscommunication?

Writing an ARD Worth Reading

If you do plan on going forward with it, following are some steps you could take to help your ARD be effective and influential:

• First of all, try reading through a few models: The best way to get started might be to read a sample requirements document, just to give you some ideas.
• Sources of Inspiration: These could be from open-sourced materials, if available, or even internal documentation from companies like Notion or Figma.
• Engage Stakeholders: It needs to be ensured that everyone in the lineup—from designers and developers down to the users—is on board.
• Keep it succinct: The report should state the facts in a clear and succinct manner without the use of many words. It should not have in it some technical words that may drive the readers to misunderstand the meaning of what is being conveyed.
• Focus on deliverables: Therein lies the foundation of our efforts in creating and generating actionable items that come out of the contents within the document.
• Dynamic nature: It is essentially a living document that is amended at all times.

Conclusion

Closing on different projects, it is important to underline that even though an app requirements document is not about everything, in any case, it is a very important piece of paper that signals either success or chaos.

Whether small prototypes or large projects, the ARD remains pivotal to aligning expectations, reducing misunderstandings, and ensuring timely results.