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Requirements and Verification

Description

Requirements: Requirements provide a technical definition of what each and every subsystem in your design must be able to do. Each subsystem should be associated with a set of requirements. If all requirements have been met for every module, you should have a fully functioning project. A good set of requirements should meet the following criteria.

• Quantitative: Each requirement should define a range of values that a parameter must fall within and the conditions under which it must do so (e.g., The power supply must provide a voltage in the range of 4.5-5.5V for a current load up to 100mA). Every quantifiable measurement must have a tolerance associated with it. Remember if you say "must be 5V", you can never measure exactly 5V and your verification will fail no matter what (think ECE 313). Exceptions would be binary measurements (LED is on, software flag is set, etc). Even for software components, you need some kind of quantifiable test (error rate, run time, etc).
• Thorough: A good set of requirements should cover all functionality of the project. You should be able to hand your requirements to an engineer who knows nothing about your project and they would have enough information to design a system that performs just like your design (the designs may not necessarily match but they should perform the same functions).
• Defined by Project Goals: Your requirements must be driven by what your system is being designed to do. It is tempting to find a component, take specifications from the datasheet and use those for your requirements but this misses the point entirely. You should be choosing your requirements based on your project goals and then finding components that meet your requirements.
  
  As an example, consider the case in which a module contains only a single part. Suppose that in working out your design, you determine a temperature sensing module must provide a reading accurate to within 5° C. For your design, you choose a sensor which is accurate to within 1° C, which is much better than the requirement. In your RV table, the requirement should still state "accurate to within 5° C" even though the actual sensor will perform better. Why is this important? Perhaps in future implementations, cost becomes an issue. The 1° C sensor is 10x more expensive than a similar sensor that provides 4° C accuracy. If you had changed your requirement to match the capability of the original sensor, you would not meet requirements by switching to the less expensive (and less accurate) sensor. Remember, requirements are based upon what you the module must be able to do and are decided upon before you make actual implementation decisions.
• Commonly Overlooked Requirements: Below is a list, by no means exhaustive, of considerations frequently overlooked in generating requirements. Consider if any apply to your project.
  • Circuit protection: How will your circuit handle a sudden short/open?
  • Input/Output protection: What would happen if a user inserted a plug or battery in backwards?
  • Environment: Will your project function in hot or cold conditions? In the rain?
  • Latency: What amount of time can be tolerated between user/data input and a response from your project?
  • Software: What functions does your software need accomplish?

Verification: Verifications are a set of procedures that you will use to verify that a requirement has been met. Every requirement should have a verification procedure associated with it. Good verification procedures will meet the following criteria.

• Define Equipment: Explicitly state what type of test equipment you will use to take a measurement (e.g., oscilloscope, DMM, yardstick, etc). You should also clearly define any additional equipment needed to perform a given test such as a variable load, or other sensor equipment needed to provide a "truth" signal for reference.
• Define Test Procedures: Give a step by step procedure for each test. An engineer who knows little to nothing about your project should be able to follow your procedures and make the correct measurements. Reference specific pin connections on electrical diagrams to tell the test engineer where to connect equipment.
• Define Presentation of Results: The verification procedure will state how the results will be recorded in your notebook and presented in your final report (table of data, graph, single numerical value, labelled diagram, etc).

Remember, a good R&V table should function like a debugging checklist.