Just had some requirements through for a query that a customer has specified.
“Set the value to 1 if the Outcome is not Complete or Cancelled or NULL”
This could be variously interpreted as:
“if the Outcome is NOT Complete and NOT Cancelled and NOT NULL”
Or “if the Outcome is NOT Complete, and NOT Cancelled, or IS NULL”
Or perhaps even “if the Outcome is NOT ‘Complete or Cancelled’ or IS NULL”
Obviously I’ll go back to them for clarity, but it’s a wonder why so often “bugs” arise based on interpretation of specifications.
Completely agree, requirements are key and often badly defined due to the customers’ lack of knowledge of the intricacies of the system. You are correct to ask for clarity or it could come back to bite you later on.
I’ve just had a spec through from a BA which consists entirely of screenshots of an existing system with no technical definitition of any of the requested fields so relate to this right now.