Guidelines for Preparing the Product Overview document

• Include the problem description as given by the customer. You can add more information to the problem but should not miss any information from the original description given by the customer.
• Include missing requirements. For example, in the ATM system, “There must be at least two types of users – privileged users and users” is a missing/hidden requirement from the problem description because the opening and closing of accounts is handled by a manager/staff in the bank.
• Introduce assumptions to narrow down the focus of the problem. For example, in the ATM system, “Each account is owned by only one user” is an assumption that enables the designer to simplify the problem.
• Classify the requirements and include only those requirements in the overview document that are important and mandatory as viewed by the customer. For example, recording the date of a transaction in a bank environment is useful but it is not required by the customer (see the problem description as given by the customer).
• Do not include representational details or implementation-oriented details in the product overview document. For example, “Account numbers will be represented as integers” is a representational detail. It is possible that a designer might choose to represent account numbers as strings.
• Avoid duplicating the information given in “Problem Description” into “Assumptions and additional requirements”. If it is stated in one place, you do not need to include it in the other section. Redundancy is not a mistake but might lead to confusions sometimes.
• Ensure that your document has no spelling and grammatical mistakes.
• Use simple sentences so that everyone can understand. Even though it will be written and will be used by only your team, it is required that a requirements document must be readable and understandable, particularly for the customers.
• Let the entire team review the document thoroughly before submitting it to the instructor. The more reviews conducted, the better is the document.
• Ensure that your meeting logs and signature page are also submitted along with the document.