Software Product Requirements
Product Requirements for All EPRI Software
Developers must Validate and Verify (V&V) that the calculations and other operations performed by the software yield correct results. EPRI Software Acceptance Testing concentrates upon ensuring that the software and documentation is reliable and functions as expected.
In addition to the requirements below, see the Installation Instructions Checklist for additional requirements.
- Installation is straightforward using standard tools.
- An uninstall procedure is present.
In addition to the requirements below, see the User Documentation Checklist for additional requirements.
- The EPRI Copyright, Ordering Information, and Disclaimer Notice elements for software appear as required by EPRI legal staff. More on Notice requirements.
- The User Manual and any handouts for users that will accompany the software will be distributed in electronic form, on the same CD with the software. The User Manual, in the form of a Microsoft Word document, must be submitted for acceptance testing in a separate directory on the CD (directly off the CD root directory) called Manuals. Any other documentation or handouts for users must also be placed in the Manuals directory. Be sure to discuss any exceptions with EPRI Corporate Software Quality.
- User documentation conforms to EPRI report standards. Download the EPRI Software Manual Sample.
In addition to the requirements below, see the Solved Example Problems & Tutorial Checklist for additional requirements.
- The user documentation must include three solved example problems (also called "test cases") or a tutorial (where the sample problems are combined), with active user input and interaction. The examples will show users how to use the main features of the application, and will help them verify that the software is working correctly. A self-guiding tutorial can be used to meet this requirement.
- Outputs from solved example problems or tutorial must match user documentation when specified inputs are entered.
In addition to the requirements below, see the Graphical User Interface (GUI) & Usability Checklist for additional requirements.
- Error messages must be clear and direct the user to a solution.
- Graphical User Interface (GUI) is easy to use. A GUI supported platform, for example, the Microsoft Windows operating system is required unless an exception has been approved by EPRI Software Quality.
- The opening screen of the software (also called the launch screen or "splash screen," seen each time the program is used) prominently displays the EPRI copyright and EPRI wordmark.
- Applications must support copying and pasting of relevant data to Microsoft Office applications. The exact nature of copying and pasting required by each application is dependent on the application's functionality and features. The goal is to enable users to easily manipulate data, store the data back in the application, and create customized reports. Single text field copying and pasting is not sufficient to meet this requirement. For tabular data, a standard tab- or comma- delimited export function is also required to avoid dependence upon a specific release of Microsoft Excel.
- A Windows-based (not DOS-based) graphical user interface (GUI) is required. Software must implement a GUI using Windows GUI system calls. Software must support, at a minimum, Microsoft Windows 2000 and XP platforms. Exceptions must be documented and approved by the EPRI software quality manager.
| Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet |
For relatively simple software that is built to run as a spreadsheet inside Microsoft Excel, the following requirements apply:
- The first tab of the spreadsheet acts as a title page, and includes the EPRI wordmark, software name and the Copyright, Ordering Information, and Disclaimer Notice.
- The second tab describes the capabilities of the software, and lists the contents for each tab of the spreadsheet.
- A separate tab (use more if needed) presents one or more solved examples covering the main functions of the spreadsheet.
- All formulas and instructions must be in locked fields that cannot be modified by the user.
- Range checking must be implemented on all input fields, to verify that user input meets the expected input criteria. Error messages for rejected input must assist the user in making an appropriate entry.
Additional background on Spreadsheet Development is available that gives examples and further description for the requirements above.
All Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet applications must support the following:
- Microsoft 2000, XP, and Vista
- Microsoft Office 2003 and 2007
- Adobe Acrobat Reader Version 8.0 (if use of .PDF documents is required)
| EPRI Web Application Development |
All web applications need to be hosted by EPRI.com.
Web applications need to follow the User Documentation, Solved Example Problem, Graphical User Interface (GUI), Usability, and Corporate product requirements noted in the sections above.
For addition testing information, see the EPRI Software Engineering Team Web Application Testing Checklist .
All web applications must support the following:
- Microsoft 2000, XP, and Vista
- Internet Explorer (IE) Version 6.0, 7.0, and 8.0
- Mozilla Firefox Version 2.0 and 3.0
- Adobe Acrobat Reader Version 8.0 (if use of .PDF documents is required)
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