40Anforderungen

40Anforderungen is a term used in German-language contexts to denote a predefined set of forty requirements intended as a framework for the development and evaluation of products, systems, or services. The concept functions as a baseline to ensure coverage of essential aspects and to facilitate transparent verification. It is not a single formal standard; rather, multiple organizations have adopted and adapted a version of the list for their domain, such as software engineering, industrial engineering, or educational services.

Typically the 40 requirements are grouped into functional and non-functional categories, including functional capabilities, performance and reliability, security and privacy, usability and accessibility, maintainability, interoperability, data management, compliance, sustainability, and governance. Each item is stated clearly, with acceptance criteria and a link to how it will be verified, enabling traceability from stakeholder needs to test cases.

The methodology usually involves elicitation, mapping to stakeholder needs, and formal review cycles. The 40-item list serves as a check during specification, design reviews, testing, and audits, helping teams to identify gaps early and to document compliance.

Critics argue that a fixed number can constrain creativity or fail to fit all projects; therefore, organizations often customize the list, adjust the categories, or adopt a scalable checklist that preserves the intent of thoroughness while allowing flexibility.

Examples include a software product aligning its requirements to accessibility, data protection, performance targets, error handling, logging, and compatibility with legacy systems.

See also: requirements engineering, quality assurance, compliance checklists.