Defining Organizational Requirements

The first task in assessing a software product is to document the functionality that it must deliver. Unfortunately, too many times this part of the assessment process is cut short or not undertaken at all. It's easy to conclude, “We don't have enough time to develop detailed specifications. We need to choose now!” This approach to specification is captured in the rhetorical question, “Why is there never enough time to do it right, but always enough time to do it over?” A clear set of product requirements is the key to open source success.

The first task is documenting the required functionality.

Therefore, the right first task is to document the product requirements: What does the product need to do? Even ...

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