Mustconditions

Mustconditions is a label used to describe mandatory prerequisites or constraints that govern a process, system, or agreement. The term is not a formal standard, but it captures the idea of conditions that must be true for progress, validity, or compliance.

In requirements engineering and software specification, must conditions are expressed with the word "must" to denote a non-negotiable requirement. Example: "The system must authenticate users before access." They contrast with "should" (advisory) and "may" (permissive). Must conditions are used to derive test cases and acceptance criteria.

In deontic logic and normative standards, must conditions reflect obligations or duties rather than mere preferences. They encode necessary constraints; failing to satisfy a must condition typically constitutes a violation or defect.

Applications: contract drafting uses must conditions to define essential obligations; regulatory compliance uses must conditions to ensure safety, privacy, or security; in modeling and decision workflows they define gating criteria.

Challenges: Misinterpretation due to language differences; must conditions can be too rigid, causing over-constraining; dependencies among must conditions can create complexity; ensuring traceability to verification tests is essential.

See also: related terms such as must, shall, should, may; deontic logic; requirements engineering; contract law.