Requirements Analysis – Part 8 Types of Requirements

Requirements are categorized in several ways. The following are common categorizations of requirements that relate to technical management.

The customers are those that perform the eight primary functions of systems engineering, with special emphasis on the operator as the key customer.

• Operational requirements will define the basic need and, at a minimum, answer the questions posed in the following listing:
• Operational distribution or deployment: Where will the system be used?
• Mission profile or scenario: How will the system accomplish its mission objective?
• Performance and related parameters: What are the critical system parameters to accomplish the mission?
• Utilization environments: How are the various system components to be used?
• Effectiveness requirements: How effective or efficient must the system be in performing its mission?
• Operational life cycle: How long will the system be in use by the user?
• Environment: What environments will the system be expected to operate in an effective manner?

Statements and assumptions that define the expectations of the system in terms of mission objectives, environment, constraints, and measures of effectiveness and suitability (MOE/MOS).