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Mandatory vs. Desirable Requirements in Natural Language
publish date: 2026/06/06 10:19:26.181574 UTC
Fill in the blanks:
"In natural language requirements writing, (1) requirements use the word 'shall', while (2) requirements that are not essential use the word 'should'."
Correct Answer
(1) mandatory
(2) desirable
Explanation
Using language consistently helps distinguish between mandatory requirements (what the system must support, written using 'shall') and desirable requirements (what would be preferable but is not essential, written using 'should').
Reference
Software Engineering, Ian Sommerville, 9th edition