5 C of Business Requirement Document

The Five “C’s” of Quality Requirements

 

1. Be Clear

  • Organize the discussion logically
  • Get to the point and stick to the point
  • Phrase things in the positive
  • Use plain words rather than fancy ones
  • Avoid euphemisms
  • Test to see if each “point” is clear and complete enough to stand alone

 

2. Be Concise

  • Keep the specification simple
  • Use bullet points
  • Use words that you use everyday
  • Use specific words rather than general ones
  • Avoid redundancy

 

3. Be Concrete

 

  • Use examples and scenarios
  • Avoid jargon and clichés
  • Have clearly defined causes
  • Have clearly defined outcomes
  • Avoid confusing compound statements
  • Avoid negative statements

 

4. Be Complete

 

  • Be sufficiently descriptive for the level of requirements and objectives of the project
  • Use your checklists and validation techniques
  • Document all possible, conditions and responses (branches) e.g., what if expected result doesn’t happen?
  • Support verbs such as ‘calculate’, ‘update’, or ‘modify’ with required detail. e.g., the formula, what data is updated, etc.
  • Check for operations without defined events
  • Check for operations without all outcomes defined
  • Specify all required data elements e.g., data definitions, rules, etc.

 

 

 

5. Be Consistent

 

  • Use the same terms for synonyms like client and customer, sales rep or sales person, vendor or supplier throughout the document

 

  • Use the same fonts and styles throughout the document