Requirements Writing

Go to Course: https://www.coursera.org/learn/requirements-writing

Introduction

## Course Review: Requirements Writing on Coursera ### Overview In today's fast-paced, technology-driven world, the ability to clearly articulate requirements is crucial for the success of any project. That's where the "Requirements Writing" course on Coursera comes in. This comprehensive four-week course is designed for individuals who want to master the art of writing precise, well-structured requirement statements, guided by the principles laid out by the International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE). ### Course Structure The course unfolds over five weeks, with four progressive modules focused on the critical aspects of requirements writing, followed by a final week dedicated to exam preparation. Each week introduces new concepts and challenges, ensuring a thorough understanding of the material. 1. **Week 1: Welcome & Introduction to the Course** - The course kicks off with a warm introduction, setting expectations for what learners will achieve. You'll engage with quizzes designed to reinforce the week's lessons, which you can retake multiple times for mastery. 2. **Week 2: Understanding the Basics of Requirements Writing** - This module dives into the foundational aspects of requirements writing. It emphasizes removing ambiguity from requirement statements, identifying a suitable structure, and introducing crucial rules to guide your writing. 3. **Week 3: Delving Deeper into Rules** - Building on the previous knowledge, this module explores the nuanced rules around the use of language in requirements. It covers the pitfalls of vague terminology, the proper use of conjunctions, and the importance of avoiding unbounded statements. 4. **Week 4: Finalizing the Essentials** - The course culminates in a thorough examination of when to be precise and the more technical elements of requirements writing, such as handling units, ranges, and the prohibition of certain words and phrases that can introduce ambiguity. 5. **Week 5: Revision and Preparation for the Final Exam** - The final week is reserved for revision, allowing learners to revisit the materials and take the quizzes again to prepare for the final assessment. The exam is designed to evaluate your knowledge comprehensively, utilizing a diverse set of questions similar to those in quizzes. ### Course Highlights - **Interactive Quizzes**: With a wide pool of questions, the quizzes not only assess but also enhance your learning, ensuring no two quizzes are the same. - **Expert Guidance**: Instructors knowledgeable in systems engineering provide insights drawn from real-world experience. - **Flexible Learning**: The course is accessible to anyone, making it a great fit for professionals across various disciplines, from project management to software development. ### Who Should Take This Course? The "Requirements Writing" course is an excellent resource for anyone involved in project development or management, including but not limited to: - Systems engineers - Project managers - Business analysts - Software developers - Quality assurance professionals Whether you are new to requirements writing or looking to refine your skills, this course offers valuable insights and practical tools that will enhance your capabilities. ### Conclusion: A Strong Recommendation In conclusion, I highly recommend the "Requirements Writing" course on Coursera. Its structured approach, combined with the expertise of the instructor, makes it an invaluable resource for anyone looking to improve their requirement writing skills. The progressive learning method, interactive quizzes, and comprehensive modules ensure that you’ll come away with not only the knowledge but also the confidence to apply what you've learned. Enrolling in this course could be a pivotal step in your professional development, equipping you with essential skills to communicate requirements effectively within any project setting. Start your journey in mastering requirements writing today!

Syllabus

Welcome & Introduction to the Course

Welcome to the Requirements Writing MOOC. The course is run over five weeks. During the first four weeks you will complete four modules (one each week) that progressively move through the rules for writing requirements. Each week, you will have the opportunity to undertake a module quiz as many times as you wish to ensure that you have a grasp on the module material. The quizzes are drawn from a large set of questions, so each time you do the quiz, you will see new questions to test your knowledge. In Week 5, there will not be any presentations but you will have time to review the four modules and practice the module quizzes again so that you are prepared for the course exam.

As we saw in the last module, the writing of good requirements is essentially about removing the ambiguity from the resulting statement. We first identified a suitable structure for the statement and we then began to look at the rules that we should keep in mind when writing requirements. In this module we continue to move through the rules, particularly as they relate to the use of vague and superfluous words.

In the last module we addressed more of the rules we need to follow in order to develop good requirement statements. In particular we looked at the rules that relate to the use of vague and superfluous words. In this module we address more of those rules, starting with some more rules about other words we should avoid when writing requirements. In particular, we look at avoiding conjunctions unless we introduce a formal convention for logical conditions. We also discuss why we must avoid unbounded statements and escape clauses.

In Module 4, we complete our look at the rules for writing requirements. In particular, we focus on when we should and should not be precise; how to use units, ranges and tolerances; and some final things to avoid (such as cross-references, including pronouns, and the use of “not” in forming negative requirements).

This final module allows you some time to revise the first four modules and the quizzes in order to prepare for the completion of the course exam. The exam questions are drawn from the same large pool of questions as the quizzes—so you should not be surprised by the test questions since you will have seen something very similar if you have prepared by completing the quizzes a sufficient number of times. We also provide some addition information regarding the Master of Systems Engineering program at UNSW Canberra.