On page 42 of Code Code complete there’s a checklist of requirement items you might want to consider during a requirement phase.
On of the items (near the bottom of the list) says Are minimum machine memory and free disk space specified
Has this ever been a requirement in any project you did and how did you define such a requirement before even starting to build stuff?
I know this is only a suggestion and frankly I don’t think I will ever include that in my requirements, but it got me thinking (and this is the real question)..
How would one ever make an estimation of system requirements…
This is in the requirements phase so isn’t it more about identifing the minimum specification of machine that the application has to run on than estimating the resources your application will use?
I’ve developed systems for corporate clients where they have standard builds and are able to identify the minimum spec machine that will be used. Often you won’t know the minimum specifications of the machines that you will be installing on but you will know the operating systems that you have to support, and may be able to infer them from that.