functional requirements - use wording based on verbs?
- by yas
Question:
Should the functional requirements in a requirements doc use wording based on verbs?
Context:
School assignment, working in a team, working through the SDLC.
The requirements doc has been done and we are now into design.
Problem:
The requirements doc has an enumerated list of what I'd call features of the app - the
functional requirements. In that list are things that I'd think of as "how's" rather
than "what's" and now, trying to work on design, I feel like a part of design has been
prematurely dictated.
I've not done this before! To me, I should be dealing strictly with things that
describe "what."
Example of current:
Pretend that the job is to make an omelet. Listing: crack the egg, break into bowl, scramble, etc.; crosses over the line into the territory of how. Along that track, so does wording like: create, generate, list, calculate, determine, validate, etc. - verbs, basically. Right now, I have a list of requirements that are partially rooted in verbs.
My idea of a requirements doc for an omelet would be more like: has two eggs, x ounces of ham, x ounces of bacon, x ounces of montery-jack cheese, x ounces of cilantro, etc. - nothing but what (nouns).
I might have, and could have, spoken up before finalizing the requirements doc if I'd had any experience.
