Requirements vs Features - A Definition
2 Comments Latest comment by: Michael
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A common question that comes up in discussions is what qualifies as a Requirement and what qualifies as a Feature.
I've always thought of a Feature as something that would go as a bullet point in a product datasheet or brochure. A Feature is a capability that provides an end user the ability to achieve a business goal.
A Feature then is usually made up of a set of Requirements.
EXAMPLE
A Feature of Amazon.com is "One-Click Purchase".
Some of the associated Requirements may be:
- Software shall check to see whether the user has enabled 'One-Click Purchase' in his preferences
- Software shall retrieve all items stored in the cart
- Software shall process order using default credit card and shipping address stored in the account
- etc...
A Feature thus consists of a set of Requirements that need to be implemented to provide the user the ability to achieve a goal.
About the Author: I'm your author, Michael Shrivathsan, an expert in product management and product marketing with successful experience spanning two decades. I live in Silicon Valley, USA. For my day job, I manage the product management group at an exciting software startup.
Comments
Your examples of requirements seem too granular. Not sure this is a good example.
Posted by: John | February 21, 2006 08:24 PM
I think you're right John. Upon further thought I agree with you - my examples of requirements do seem too granular.
For what it is worth, the IEEE definition of "requirement":
Posted by: Michael | February 26, 2006 02:22 AM