Planning Smarter: Creating Blueprint-Quality Software Specifications

4.5. Anyone Can Pseudocode

The Data Dictionary defines all constants, calculated values, and variables in the project. The blueprint unambiguously relates each screen or report field to an item in the Data Dictionary. Operational logic must also be specified. A good blueprint requires that all formulas and operational logic also be unambiguously represented by referencing the Data Dictionary.

The typical way that business logic is presented in most specifications is with narratives or flowcharts. The problem with narratives is that they are horribly ambiguous. Even most formulaic representations contain ambiguous variables and lack complete functional logic. Diagrammatic representations almost always lack sufficient detail to completely specify ...