URD (software engineering)

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URD is an acronym for User Requirements Document, as used in software engineering.

An important and difficult step of designing a software product is determining what the customer actually wants it to do. What a customer informally says is desired may be incomplete, inaccurate and self-conflicting. The URD is meant to spell out exactly what the software must do and becomes part of the contractual agreement. A customer cannot demand features not in the URD without renegotiating and a developer cannot claim the product is ready if it does not meet an item of the URD.

The URD can be used as a guide to planning cost, timetables, milestones, testing, etc. The explicit nature of the URD allows customers to show it to various stakeholders to make sure all necessary features are described.

Formulating a URD requires negotiation to determine what is technically and economically feasible. Preparing a URD is one of those skills that lies between a science and an art, requiring both software technical skills and interpersonal skills.

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