Hi, yes I would be happy to provide detail. An important part of any software development project (not prototypes, of course) is the establishment of a solid set of requirements. To do that, an engineer needs to understand the following things:

1. The context of the software. Where does the software “live” in the world? A context diagram is very useful.

2. The major interfaces. What are the channels, formats, data structures, etc. Interface control documents are very helpful tools, as are any number of diagrams depending upon the application.

3. The concept of operation and “user story.” This is a top-level description of what happens when, why, and how to whom? This involves timing, aesthetic, user inputs, safety/security, other usability factors, outputs/results, etc. When you try to describe how people use the software, salient requirements can be discovered. It also helps to create a wireframe that can be shared with the customer to uncover more details or steer the requirements in a different direction.

4. Develop a draft set of requirements. I won’t go into detail, but this is the culmination of the preceding steps.

Good luck.