We all get them. What do you do when you are supposed to write a functional spec from a woolly proposal? You can write a ton of questions about the proposal but answers are not always forthcoming. Sometimes for political reasons you cannot make someone firm them up. How do you deal with a vague software proposal, when experience and intuition only go so far?
how do you deal with a vague software proposal?
requirements
I do as much as I can with what is not vague (which in some cases has been nothing, if you don't include setting up the workspace and naming the project), and then send an email to supervisors say I need to get details regarding requirements X, Y, and Z or I cannot proceed. If the supervisor says do it anyway! I then push them to explain what I should do, and ask for a time allocation to undo and correct when my code inevitably does not meet the late-given requirements. Even if the supervisor/team lead doesn't like this, it makes sure they know that progress is being blocked by lack of requirements.If I am dealing directly with a client, I tell them very clearly what I need. If they can't get back to me with it right away, I tell them that work will start only after we both agree on the requirements. Again, this is not always popular, but it has saved significant amounts of wasted effort with clients who in some casese never got requirements back to me.