volume_mute
Imprecision in Functional Requirements
publish date: 2026/06/05 21:07:7.554862 UTC
volume_mute
The requirement 'A user shall be able to search the appointments lists for all clinics' is considered ambiguous. What is the key ambiguity?
Correct Answer
The word 'search' is ambiguous — it could mean a global cross-clinic search by patient name, or it could mean the user must first select a clinic and then search within it
Explanation
The word 'search' is ambiguous. A medical staff member specifying this requirement may expect that given a patient name, the system looks for that name in all appointments at all clinics. A developer may implement it so the user must choose a clinic then carry out the search — more user input and slower. Both are valid readings of 'search'.
Reference
Software Engineering, Ian Sommerville, 9th edition