Incomplete

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Requirements are considered incomplete when they lack essential components such as the actor, action, object, or clarity of intent.

Table 1. Summary of rule mapping
Category Description
Rule mapping
  • MISSING ACTOR
  • MISSING ACTION
  • MISSING OBJECT
  • MISSING IMPERATIVE
Default weight 20

Missing action

A requirement is incomplete if the action is missing or unclear. Rewrite the requirement to clearly identify the action.

Example: Clarify remote access expectations

Unclear Requirement: The system shall have a login console for company employees to log in remotely, where possible.

Issue: The phrase 'where possible' is ambiguous. A contractor might interpret it as 'if budget allows', while the author may mean 'if technically feasible'. This can lead to inconsistent implementation, especially when remote access from non-company sites (e.g., homes) is essential.

Clear Requirements: The system shall have a login console for company employees to log in remotely. The system shall have a login console for company employees to log in remotely over the internet.

Note: Avoid vague qualifiers. Be specific about conditions, constraints, and expectations to ensure consistent interpretation.

Missing actor

A requirement must clearly state who or what performs the action. Without an actor, the requirement is incomplete and might be misinterpreted.

Each requirement should include:

  • Actor: The person or system performing the action.
  • Action: What the actor does.
  • Object: What the action is performed on.

This structure ensures that the requirement is clear, testable, and complete

Example: Missing actor

Unclear Requirement: When prompted, must respond with the password.

Issue: It’s unclear who is responsible for entering the password.

Clear Requirement: When prompted, a user must respond with the password.
Note: Always include the actor explicitly, even if it seems obvious from context.

Missing imperative

An imperative statement communicates that an actor will complete an action and indicates a degree of importance or certainty.

The verbs such as shall indicates that a requirement is mandatory or contractually binding, which means that it must be implemented and verified. Include imperative statements in requirements and ensure that your company guidelines define what specific terms such as shall mean.

Look-for-text: must, shall, will, should

Example: Add an imperative statement

Descriptive requirement: The text editor transforms text content into a PDF document.

Issue: This statement describes behavior but doesn’t specify that the system is required to perform the action.

Clear Requirement: The text editor shall transform text content into a PDF document. With those definitions, these requirements have specific meanings:
  • The system shall display the user’s name.
  • The system should display the user’s email ID.

Missing object

A requirement must clearly state who performs the action and what the action is performed on. Without an object, the requirement is incomplete and might be misinterpreted.

Each requirement should include:
  • Actor: The person or system performing the action.
  • Action: What the actor does.
  • Object: What the action is performed on.
This structure ensures the requirement is clear, testable, and complete.

Example: Missing object

Unclear Requirement: The XYZ downloader will download 5 GB of data in 30 seconds.

Issue: The requirement lacks context, what triggers the download?

Clear Requirement: The XYZ downloader will download 5 GB of data in 30 seconds when a user presses option 1.
Note: Always include the object explicitly, even if it seems implied from context.