strawman

In software development, a crude plan or document may serve as the strawman or starting point in the evolution of a project. The strawman is not expected to be the last word; it is refined until a final model or document is obtained that resolves all issues concerning the scope and nature of the project. In this context, a strawman can take the form of an outline, a set of charts, a presentation, or a paper.

Suppose a company wants to provide wireless Internet access for the people in a certain region. The engineers outline the basic expectations and requirements for the system. Criteria might include the following: (1) Coverage must be provided for at least 30 kilometers in all directions from the server's antenna system; (2) The minimum data speed for each subscriber must be 512 kbps downstream and 256 kbps upstream; (3) A backup power supply must provide at least 10 hours of continuous operation in the event of a general power failure; (4) Downtime must not exceed 10 hours per month; (5) The cost per subscriber must be less than US$65 per month and a one-time cost of US$500 for hardware and installation; (6) Subscribers must not be required to sign a contract or make a subscription commitment; (7) The system must be capable of accommodating up to 500 subscribers at any given time without causing more than a 10-percent degradation of downstream or upstream connection speed for any subscriber; (8) No subscriber should have to install an antenna in excess of 10 meters in height above the rooftop to achieve rated connection speed. These eight points, listed and informally described, could comprise a strawman document for the project. The plan would proceed from that starting point.

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