Thesaurus Day Celebrate Variety
Happy #ThesaurusDay or Should that be “Convivial greetings to all celebrating alternative onomasticon listings day” ?
In pure terms a list of equivalent words or synonyms helps enrich our language. The thesaurus may list a number of alternatives that are subtly different.
Requirements ambiguity
When writing a requirement we have to be careful that we are unambiguous in both our language and meaning.
Language Construct
“The value displayed shall be the total time expended for each activity of a particular type divided by the count of all activities of each type”. Could be interpreted as
A1 2mins, A2 1min, A3 4mins = 7 mins for type A
B1 3mins, B2 4mins, B3 8mins, B4 1min = 16 mins for type B
Value to display for A = (7 mins / 7 ) = 7
Value to display for B = (16 mins / 7) = 2.3
or as intended
Value to display for A = (7 mins / 3 ) = 2.3
Value to display for B = (16 mins / 4) = 4
In this case we could have removed the ambiguity by using an equation as a synonym for the language.
ValA = sum{typeA.duration} / count{type A}
ValB = sum{typeB.duration} / count{type B}
Meanings
Choices in language can mean different things to different people. This is especially true where suppliers and customers work in different fields. The Customer’s Requirement is their end goal, for the supplier it is the starting point. The Customer asks that the “After the office upgrade and IT installation users should have a clear desk”. Maybe unhindered or unobstructed would have served better?
Stay SMART(U)
So to celebrate thesaurus day 2018 : Do your best to keep your requirements Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-bound. Oh and of course Unambiguous, but rich with language.