Functional specifications

The specification explains what a business area, function or page should do. Review it before assessing the implementation. Start from the business area's configuration or the page's information view.

Before you start — Choose the area, function or page concerned and prepare an example of the expected user task. Specifications describe intended behavior; the development application shows what has actually been constructed.

Review the expected behavior

Read the included scope and its limits before judging whether a proposed or completed page meets the business need.

1. Open Modules and configure the area concerned.
2. Read the expected purpose, user journey and included scope.
3. Inspect the Application features and Administration features relevant to your users.
4. Open a page's information to compare What's included and What's not included.

The analysis becomes a reference for checking whether the build solves the right business problem.

Clarify a function's planned behavior

Use a function-level request when the business rule affects the capability as a whole rather than one page’s presentation.

1. Open the function's specification and click Request a change.
2. In Your request, describe the rule that should change.
3. Give one example of an ordinary case and one exception.
4. Click Send the request.

The system regenerates the function (its pages, data and behavior) from your request, and its specification reflects the change once the update is complete. A useful example says who acts, what information is used and which outcome should result.

For an approval rule, define what an authorized reviewer can confirm and what should happen when required information is missing. Those two situations make the rule testable; a statement such as “add approval” leaves the missing-information behavior undecided.

Clarify a page's planned behavior

Use a page-level request when the task, information or expected outcome needs to be clarified for that specific screen.

1. Open the page's specification and click Request a change.
2. Fill in Your request with the expected user action and result.
3. Click Send the request.
4. Reopen the page's specification once the regeneration is complete and review the revised scope.

The system regenerates the page (its content, data and behavior) from your request; check the revised scope against the example supplied in the request.

Note — Keep each request tied to the item concerned. Changing a planned page description does not prove that a production screen has changed.

Compare the built result with the scope

Reproduce the same situations used to define the requirement so the review checks business behavior as well as appearance.

1. Read the planned task and its important business rules.
2. Open the built page in development.
3. Complete the same ordinary case and exception used in the requirement.
4. Describe any difference in Studio with the page selected.

The test checks behavior as well as appearance. Use Deployment to confirm which reviewed version will reach production.