“Technical” and “functional” are two distinct, complementary viewpoints used in business, software development, and project management to describe how a system or process works.
Functional focuses on what the system does (business processes, user needs).
Technical focuses on how the system does it (code, infrastructure, tools). Functional Aspects (The “What”)
Functional knowledge pertains to how things work within a specific business context, focusing on user needs and operational goals. Focus: Business processes, user experience, and outcomes.
Examples: Defining that a user must be able to log in, creating a report format, or setting up invoice approval workflows.
Key Responsibilities: Planning, coordinating, gathering requirements, and communicating with stakeholders.
Documentation: User stories, use cases, and acceptance criteria. Technical Aspects (The “How”)
Technical knowledge pertains to the expertise required to implement, configure, and maintain the tools and systems that achieve the desired functionality. Focus: Implementation, infrastructure, and performance.
Examples: Writing code (e.g., Python, Java), database design, configuring server hardware, or managing API integrations.
Key Responsibilities: Coding, testing, system integration, and performance optimization.
Documentation: Technical specifications, API documentation, and architecture diagrams. Key Differences Summary Functional Focus Business requirements & user needs Tools, code, & implementation Question What should it do? How do we build it? Persona Business Analyst, Functional Consultant Software Engineer, Technical Architect Skills Process mapping, communication Programming, systems architecture
In a typical project, a functional consultant will talk to a client to define the business problem, while a technical consultant will use that information to build the solution.
If you are trying to map these roles to a specific project, let me know if you are looking at: Software development ERP implementation (like SAP) Business process improvement