BiLog: Detail Requirements....Report Specification Best Practice

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You’ve read my mind,  heard my frustrations with folding maps   and seen the aftermath of the attack , as we’ve reviewed the components of report specifications over the last few weeks.   Today, we’ll conclude this series on the importance and components of creating report specifications.   Our series started a few weeks back when we highlighted the three major components of creating report specifications which were
1.    Understand report capabilities
2.    Understand user requirements

Today’s BiLog focuses on the last component  - Detailing user requirements on the report specification.   Specifications can come in a myriad of formats, and the example detailed here may or may not fit your individual business needs.  However, it can be used as a building block in helping you determine the type of detailed information required.   

This report specification example or template contains seven major sections listed below with a top level description of each:

1. Specification Details – Details who created and approved the specification, along with its revision history.

2. Environment – States the version of Maximo is the report being created on, along with the reporting and database software being used.

3. Report Details – Confirms the purpose of this report and how will it be executed?  Also, details the report name, its paper size and format, access points and performance settings.

4. Parameters – Details if the report will utilize the application query, or have unique user defined parameter values, or both.

5. Report Content – Reviews the header information, graphs and subheaders.   Includes specific object/attribute definitions, along with any calculations required and the display format and descriptions of each field.   

6. Report Mockup – A visual representation of what the report will look like.  

7. Testing Considerations – Details unique use case scenarios in which this report should be tested.
 

Please respond if this information is useful, as I’ll then work to provide additional information and examples on this.  Thank you!