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Mandatory vs. Desirable in Natural Language
publish date: 2026/06/06 23:20:8.222913 UTC
Fill in the blanks:
"In natural language requirements writing, (1) requirements use the keyword 'shall', while (2) requirements use the keyword 'should'."
Correct Answer
(1) mandatory
(2) desirable
Explanation
'Shall' indicates a mandatory requirement the system must support. 'Should' indicates a desirable but non-essential requirement. Using this language consistently is an important guideline for natural language requirements writing.
Reference
Software Engineering, Ian Sommerville, 9th edition