IEEE Definition of "Requirement"

Here are the IEEE definitions of "requirement":

1. a condition or capability needed by a user to solve a problem or achieve an objective
2. a condition or capability that must be met or possessed by a system or system component to satisfy a contract, standard,specification, or other formally imposed document
3. a documented representation of a condition or capability as in (1) or (2)

Contrast them with my definition. Interestingly, IEEE's first definition is nearly identical to mine, except that mine states the condition must be the least stringent one needed to solve a problem. It seems you could categorize all sorts of design and implementation details as requirements without this qualification.

Meanwhile, the discussion about requirements semantics continues and has spread to the Tyner Blain blog.

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