Writing Better Requirements
Based on slides by Gunter Mussbacher
with material from:
Ian Zimmerman (Telelogic, 2001),
Ivy Hooks (Compliance Automation, 1998)
Table of Contents
• Martha can’t write requirements because…
• Anatomy of a Good / Bad User Requirement
• Standard for Writing a Requirement
• Writing Pitfalls to Avoid
• A Few Simple Tests…
• The greatest challenge to any thinker is stating the problem in
a way that will allow a solution.1
[1] Bertrand Russell, 1872-1970
2
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Martha can’t … Good & Bad Standard Pitfalls to Avoid A Few Simple Tests Summary & Tools
Martha can’t write requirements because…
• She doesn’t know what to do!
• She was not taught at school
• She doesn’t know how to write
• She doesn’t understand the process
• She doesn’t have the necessary data
• She doesn’t know what she wants
• She doesn’t understand why!
• She doesn’t understand the impact / changes
• She thinks this is “just a document”
• She’d rather do something else!
• She’d rather design – she sees no reward
• She doesn’t have enough time
• She thinks the review process will catch the errors
Source: Compliance Automation, Inc., 1998
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Martha can’t … Good & Bad Standard Pitfalls to Avoid A Few Simple Tests Summary & Tools
Anatomy of a Good User Requirement
Defines the system under discussion Verb with correct identifier (shall or may)
The Online Banking System shall allow the Internet user
to access her current account balance in less than 5 seconds.
Defines a positive end result Quality criteria
• Identifies the system under discussion and a desired end
result that is wanted within a specified time that is
measurable
• The challenge is to seek out the system under discussion,
end result, and success measure in every requirement
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Martha can’t … Good & Bad Standard Pitfalls to Avoid A Few Simple Tests Summary & Tools
Example of a Bad User Requirement
Cannot write a requirement on the user No identifier for the verb
The Internet User quickly sees her current X
account balance on the laptop screen.
Vague quality criteria What versus how
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Martha can’t … Good & Bad Standard Pitfalls to Avoid A Few Simple Tests Summary & Tools
Standard for Writing a Requirement
• Each requirement must first form a complete sentence
• Not a bullet list of buzzwords, list of acronyms, or sound bites on a
slide
• Each requirement contains a subject and predicate
• Subject: a user type (watch out!) or the system under discussion
• Predicate: a condition, action, or intended result
• Verb in predicate: “shall” / “will” / “must” to show mandatory nature;
“may” / “should” to show optionality
• The whole requirement provides the specifics of a desired
end goal or result
• Contains a success criterion or other measurable indication
of the quality
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Martha can’t … Good & Bad Standard Pitfalls to Avoid A Few Simple Tests Summary & Tools
Standard for Writing a Requirement
• Several standards define fairly precisely how to use key
words (verbs and adjectives) in their documents.
• Example: IETF RFC 2119: Key words for use in RFCs to
Indicate Requirement Levels
• MUST, REQUIRED or SHALL: mean that the definition is an absolute
requirement of the spec.
• MUST NOT or SHALL NOT: absolute prohibition
• SHOULD or RECOMMENDED: think twice about not doing it!
• SHOULD NOT or NOT RECOMMENDED: think twice about doing it!
• MAY or OPTIONAL: truly optional
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Martha can’t … Good & Bad Standard Pitfalls to Avoid A Few Simple Tests Summary & Tools
Standard for Writing a Requirement
• Look for the following characteristics in each requirement
• Feasible (not wishful thinking)
• Needed (provides the specifics of a desired end goal or result)
• Testable (contains a success criterion/other measurable indication of
quality)
• Clear, unambiguous, precise, one thought
• Prioritized
• ID
• Note: several characteristics are mandatory (feasible,
needed, testable) whereas others improve communication
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Martha can’t … Good & Bad Standard Pitfalls to Avoid A Few Simple Tests Summary & Tools
Writing Pitfalls to Avoid
• Never describe how the system is going to achieve
something (over-specification), always describe what the
system is supposed to do
• Refrain from designing the system prematurely
• Danger signs: using names of components, materials, software objects,
fields & records in the user or system requirements
• Designing the system too early may possibly increase system costs
• Do no mix different kinds of requirements (e.g., requirements for users,
system, and how the system should be designed, tested, or installed)
• Do not mix different requirements levels (e.g., the system and
subsystems)
• Danger signs: high level requirements mixed in with database design,
software terms, or very technical terms
• Beware: may depend on the level of abstraction…
• Your what is my how!
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Martha can’t … Good & Bad Standard Pitfalls to Avoid A Few Simple Tests Summary & Tools
Writing Pitfalls to Avoid
• “What versus how” test
The system shall use Microsoft Outlook to send an
email to the customer with the purchase confirmation.
X
The system shall inform the customer
that the purchase is confirmed.
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Martha can’t … Good & Bad Standard Pitfalls to Avoid A Few Simple Tests Summary & Tools
Writing Pitfalls to Avoid
• Never build in let-out or escape clauses
• Requirements with let-outs or escapes are dangerous because of
problems that arise in testing
• Danger signs: if, but, when, except, unless, although
• These terms may however be useful when the description of a general
case with exceptions is much clearer and complete that an enumeration of
specific cases
• Avoid ambiguity
• Write as clearly and explicitly as possible
• Ambiguities can be caused by:
• The word or to create a compound requirement
• Poor definition (giving only examples or special cases)
• The words etc., …and so on (imprecise definition)
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Martha can’t … Good & Bad Standard Pitfalls to Avoid A Few Simple Tests Summary & Tools
Writing Pitfalls to Avoid
• Do not use vague indefinable terms
• Many words used informally to indicate quality are too vague to be
verified
• Danger signs: user-friendly, highly versatile, flexible, to the maximum
extent, approximately, as much as possible, minimal impact
The EasyEntry System shall be easy to use and require X
a minimum of training except for the professional mode.
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Martha can’t … Good & Bad Standard Pitfalls to Avoid A Few Simple Tests Summary & Tools
Writing Pitfalls to Avoid
• Do not make multiple requirements
• Keep each requirement as a single sentence
• Conjunctions (words that join sentences together) are danger signs:
and, or, with, also
• Do not ramble
• Long sentences with arcane language
• References to unreachable documents
The Easy Entry Navigator module shall consist of order X
entry and communications, order processing, result
processing, and reporting. The Order Entry module shall be
integrated with the Organization Intranet System and
results are stored in the group’s electronic customer record.
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Martha can’t … Good & Bad Standard Pitfalls to Avoid A Few Simple Tests Summary & Tools
Writing Pitfalls to Avoid
• Do not speculate
• There is no room for “wish lists” – general terms about things that
somebody probably wants
• Danger signs: vague subject type and generalization words such as
usually, generally, often, normally, typically
• Do not express suggestions or possibilities
• Suggestions that are not explicitly stated as requirements are
invariably ignored by developers
• Danger signs: may, might, should, ought, could, perhaps, probably
• Avoid wishful thinking
• Wishful thinking means asking for the impossible (e.g., 100% reliable,
safe, handle all failures, fully upgradeable, run on all platforms)
The Easy Entry System may be fully adaptable to all X
situations and often require no reconfiguration by the user.
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Martha can’t … Good & Bad Standard Pitfalls to Avoid A Few Simple Tests Summary & Tools
A Few Simple Tests…(1)
• “What versus how” test discussed earlier
• Example: a requirement may specify an ordinary differential equation
that must be solved, but it should not mention that a fourth order
Runge-Kutta method should be employed
• “What is ruled out” test
• Does the requirement actually make a decision (if no alternatives are
ruled out, then no decision has really been made)
• Example: a requirement may be already covered by a more general
one
Source: Spencer Smith, McMaster U.
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Martha can’t … Good & Bad Standard Pitfalls to Avoid A Few Simple Tests Summary & Tools
A Few Simple Tests…(2)
• “Negation” test
• If the negation of a requirement represents a position that someone
might argue for, then the original decision is likely to be meaningful
The software shall be reliable. X
Source: Spencer Smith, McMaster U.
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Martha can’t … Good & Bad Standard Pitfalls to Avoid A Few Simple Tests Summary & Tools
Towards Good Requirements Specifications (1)
• Valid (or “correct”) • Consistent
• Expresses actual requirements • Does not contradict itself
• Complete (satisfiable)
• Specifies all the things the • Uses all terms consistently
system must do (including • Note: inconsistency can be hard
contingencies) to detect, especially in
• ...and all the things it must not do! concurrency/timing aspects and
condition logic
• Conceptual Completeness
(e.g., responses to all classes of • Formal modeling can help
input) • Beneficial
• Structural Completeness • Has benefits that outweigh the
(e.g., no TBDs!!!) costs of development
Source: Adapted from Blum 1992, pp164-5 and the IEEE-STD-830-1993
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Martha can’t … Good & Bad Standard Pitfalls to Avoid A Few Simple Tests Summary & Tools
Towards Good Requirements Specifications (2)
• Necessary • Verifiable
• Doesn’t contain anything that isn’t • A process exists to test
“required” satisfaction of each requirement
• Unambiguous • “every requirement is specified
• Every statement can be read in behaviorally”
exactly one way • Understandable (clear)
• Clearly defines confusing terms • E.g., by non-computer specialists
(e.g., in a glossary) • Modifiable
• Uniquely identifiable • Must be kept up to date!
• For traceability and version
control
Source: Adapted from Blum 1992, pp164-5 and the IEEE-STD-830-1993
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Martha can’t … Good & Bad Standard Pitfalls to Avoid A Few Simple Tests Summary & Tools
Typical Mistakes
• Noise = the presence of text that • Wishful thinking = text that defines
carries no relevant information to a feature that cannot possibly be
any feature of the problem validated
• Silence = a feature that is not • Jigsaw puzzles = e.g., distributing
covered by any text requirements across a document
• Over-specification = text that and then cross-referencing
describes a feature of the solution, • Inconsistent terminology =
rather than the problem inventing and then changing
• Contradiction = text that defines a terminology
single feature in a number of • Putting the onus on the
incompatible ways development staff = i.e. making the
• Ambiguity = text that can be reader work hard to decipher the
interpreted in >=2 different ways intent
• Forward reference = text that refers • Writing for the hostile reader (fewer
to a feature yet to be defined of these exist than friendly ones)
Source: Steve Easterbrook, U. of Toronto
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Martha can’t … Good & Bad Standard Pitfalls to Avoid A Few Simple Tests Summary & Tools
Rate these Requirements
The Order Entry system provides for quick, user-
friendly and efficient entry and processing of all orders.
X
Invoices, acknowledgments, and shipping notices shall
be automatically faxed during the night, so customers
X
can get them first thing in the morning.
Changing report layouts, invoices, labels, and form
letters shall be accomplished.
X
The system shall be upgraded in one whack. X
The system has a goal that as much of the IS data as X
possible be pulled directly from the T&M estimate.
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Martha can’t … Good & Bad Standard Pitfalls to Avoid A Few Simple Tests Summary & Tools
Key Questions and Characteristics
• Remember the key questions “Why?” or
“What is the purpose of this?”
• Feasible
• Needed
• Testable
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Martha can’t … Good & Bad Standard Pitfalls to Avoid A Few Simple Tests Summary & Tools
A Few Syntactic Analysis Tools
• QuARS
• Quality Analyzer of Requirements Specification
[Link]
• ARM
• Automated Requirement Measurement Tool
[Link]
• TIGER Pro
• Tool to Ingest and Elucidate Requirements
• [Link]
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