Functional requirements
Please note that ICA-AtoM is no longer actively supported by Artefactual Systems.
Visit https://www.accesstomemory.org for information about AtoM, the currently supported version.
Main Page > System Requirements > Functional requirements
Functional requirements state what the system must be able to do. The requirements provide:
- Parameters for designing the system.
- Criteria for testing the system (used in initial release and future iterations and upgrades).
- Planning guidelines for developing the system (improve existing or add new functionality).
- Documentation for standards compliance (link requirements to relevant international or national descriptive standards)
- A framework for structuring user-end documentation (step-by-step procedures for how to do things in the system).
Functional requirements have been organized around the core functions of repositories holding archival material. ICA-AtoM currently focuses on two functions:
- Intellectual and administrative control (support arrangement and description of archival holdings).
- Search and use (support search and use of descriptions by researchers).
A number of functions remain outside the scope of the current version or are only partially supported. Inclusion of these functions serves primarily as a placeholder for requirements for future development of the system.
- Acquisition (accession material, transfer / capture / ingest material, track donors, appraise for acquisition, appraise for monetary evaluation).
- Physical control (store and retrieve archival material, manage storage space).
- Preservation (implement strategies for long-term preservation of archival material).
- Access administration (provide reference service, deliver access to archival material).
- Outreach (exhibit objects, promote holdings, repositories, and the archival profession).
Each functional requirement includes the following information:
- Requirement name.
- Requirement specification (system must do X).
- Requirement quotation (which section of which standard requires that the system do X?).
- Associated metadata requirements (what fields must the system have to do X?).
- Associated usability requirements (what features msut the system have to do X well from a user / interface point of view?).
- ICA-AtoM implementation (how does ICA-AtoM implement X?).
- Associated User Manual sections (links to step-by-step instructions for doing X).