The basis for successful RE is a common understanding of the terms used. The CPRE Glossary covers the core terms of Requirements Engineering—it is the central reference work across all CPRE modules and levels! The RE@Agile Glossary supplements the CPRE Glossary with terms for Requirements Engineering in an agile environment.
The glossaries are also available in various languages for download.
The CPRE Glossary: An overview of the most important Requirements Engineering terms
Please note that the definitions of terms in the glossaries are deliberately in English only in order to exclude any ambiguities or scope for interpretation that may result from translations.
A ↑requirement describing a performance characteristic (timing, speed, volume, capacity, throughput, ...).
In this glossary, performance requirements are regarded as a sub-category of ↑quality requirements. However, they can also be considered as a ↑kind of requirements of its own.
A template for the syntactic structure of a phrase that expresses an individual ↑requirement or a ↑user story in ↑natural language. ( ↑requirements template )
The ease with which a ↑system can be transferred to another platform while preserving its characteristics.
A proven way of how to carry out certain types of ↑tasks or ↑activities.
The process of assigning priorities to a set of ↑items.
The level of importance assigned to an ↑item , e.g., a ↑requirement or a ↑defect , according to certain criteria.
A difficulty, open question or undesirable condition that needs investigation, consideration, or solution.
A set of interrelated ↑activities performed in a given order to process information or materials.
The notion of process includes business processes (e.g., how to commission and send ordered goods to ↑customers ), information processes (e.g., how to deliver records from a database that match a given query), and technical processes (e.g., cruise control in a car).
A software-based ↑system or a ↑service provided by a system which is developed and marketed by a ↑supplier and used by ↑customers.
An ordered, typically prioritized collection of work items that a development team has to work on when developing or evolving a ↑system .
Items include ↑requirements , ↑defects to be fixed, or ↑refactorings to be done.
Synonym: product family
A jointly managed set of systems (provided as products or services) that share a common core and have a configurable set of ↑variants for satisfying needs of particular customers or market segments.
The points in a product line where there is more than one ↑variant to select from are called ↑variation points.
A person responsible for a ↑product in terms of ↑functionality , value and ↑risk .
The product owner maintains and prioritizes the ↑product backlog , makes sure that the ↑stakeholders’ ↑requirements as well as market needs are elicited and adequately documented in the ↑product backlog and represents the stakeholders when communicating with the development team.
1. In manufacturing: A piece which is built prior to the start of mass production.
2. In software and systems engineering: A preliminary, partial realization of certain characteristics of a ↑system .
3. In design: A preliminary, partial instance of a design solution.
1. In RE, prototypes are used as a means for requirements ↑elicitation (see ↑specification by example ) and ↑validation .
2. Prototypes in RE can be classified
(a) with respect to their degree of fidelity into ↑native prototypes, ↑mock-ups and ↑wireframes;
(b) with respect to their purpose into ↑exploratory prototypes and ↑evolutionary prototypes.
A ↑process that involves the creation and evaluation of ↑prototypes.