Customer Reviews

Software Requirements: Objects, Functions and States (Revised Edition) (2nd Edition)

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The best thing about this book is the extensive list of reference literature; almost 800 of them. Other good parts are examples of standards for writing requirements specifications, and how to pin down and analyse difficult problems. On the down side, it sometimes goes into too great detail. It could be written a bit more pedagogic.

I should admit right away: I have not read the whole book. However, it is one of my most frequently used references at work, when I need to express the requirements that do not fit into use-case format.
The collection of techniques in the book is truly impressive. Aside from dataflow graphs, decision tables, state charts of all flavors, the book includes some exotic techniques, such as Petri nets.
You never know what will come handy on your next project, so keep Davis' book on your shelf.

Through this book I finally learned what is meant by analysis in software engineering, that most people are designing even though they might be saying that they are analyzing and that there is not just one universal requirements technique. The selection of the technique depends on the problem you have.