eifunktionaalisen

Eifunktionaalisen is the genitive form of the Finnish adjective ei-funktionaalinen, meaning “not functional” or “non-functional.” The term is used in Finnish technical and academic discourse to describe attributes, components, or requirements that do not contribute to the intended function of a system or product.

Orthography and forms: In standard Finnish, the compound is written with a hyphen as ei-funktionaalinen; the genitive singular is ei-funktionaalisen. Some writers, especially in informal contexts or certain styles, may render the word without hyphen as eifunktionaalisen. The meaning remains the same, though hyphenation is generally preferred for clarity.

Usage: The expression is common in software engineering, product design, and research documentation to contrast functional versus non-functional aspects. It appears in discussions of ei-funktionaaliset vaatimukset (non-functional requirements) or ei-funktionaalisen ominaisuuden (a non-functional attribute). The term helps distinguish features or measures that are not essential to core functionality from those that are.

Semantics and scope: Eifunktionaalisen typically signals that a discussed feature or measure is optional or relates to quality attributes rather than core operation. In Finnish, it is often used when listing characteristics, evaluating systems, or outlining constraints in projects where functional performance is separated from non-functional considerations such as usability, performance, reliability, or maintainability.

See also: functional requirement, non-functional requirement, quality attribute.