Which elements must a requirement contain that it can be considered complete? Or if this works better - which questions should I ask about a requirement to find out if it is complete. I am not talking about the implementation of the requirement but the requirement itself.I am asking this from the perspective of an analyst who wants to make sure that his requirements are complete before passing them on to the design team.
When is a requirement considered complete?
requirements
To be considered complete, each requirement must be (at minimum):Unambiguous - each requirement can only mean one thing and can only be interpreted one way.Atomic - each requirement cannot be broken down into multiple requirements.Testable - each requirement can be shown to have been met or not met via some form of testing.You'd be surprised how good your requirements turn out by just following these three guidelines at all costs.Also, be sure to write a rationale for each requirement.  This is very important and useful down the road when someone wonders why a particular requirement was created.And remember, the requirements should describe WHAT the software will do, not HOW it will do it.  The HOW should be left for the design team.