CST-438 Week 5

 Building Blueprints

This week in CST 438, Project Team 7 and I reflected on the structure and strategy behind building software systems. After reading from Marsic's software engineering text, we explored how requirements engineering sets the foundation for good development practices. That naturally led us to complete our own Software Requirements Specification (SRS) for the Lyceum Learning Management System (LLMS).

Although we have already made progress on the project itself, with both the React frontend and Spring Boot backend in place, this week showed us the value of stepping back and defining the system clearly on paper. Writing the SRS after development has already started may not follow the traditional order, but it gave us a new level of clarity. It helped us see how carefully crafted these documents are meant to be.

If we had created the SRS before beginning development, it might have streamlined the development of some of the more confusing parts of the system. Seeing the full scope of roles, workflows, and technical requirements written out made it easier to understand how everything fits together. It reinforced the idea that a solid plan can help reduce ambiguity and support better collaboration.

The big takeaway is that a good SRS is more than just a formality. It is a tool that keeps the entire team aligned, focused, and moving toward a shared vision. Kind of like having detailed blueprints before laying bricks.