funktionsbehov

Funktionsbedarf (functional requirements) describes the functions and capabilities a product, system, or service must provide to meet stakeholder needs. It specifies what the system should do—such as behavior, inputs, outputs, and interactions—without prescribing how these functions are implemented.

Origin and scope: Functional requirements are elicited from users, customers, operators, and regulatory standards, and are refined during requirements engineering. They define observable behavior the design must deliver and serve as the basis for verification and validation through tests.

Relation to other requirements: Functional requirements focus on behavior and features. They are complemented by non-functional requirements, which cover quality attributes such as performance, reliability, usability, and security, constraining how the functions are delivered and how the system operates.

Documentation: Common representations include use cases, user stories, functional specifications, and requirement lists. They are often organized in a functional breakdown structure and linked with acceptance criteria, test cases, and design artifacts to ensure traceability.

Process: The requirements lifecycle includes elicitation, analysis, validation, prioritization, and change management. Methods such as interviews, workshops, scenarios, and prototyping support refinement and agreement among stakeholders, while traceability ensures needs are addressed in design, implementation, and testing.

Applications and examples: In software, examples include “The system shall authenticate users” or “The application shall store and retrieve records.” In industrial automation or automotive engineering, examples include “The device shall monitor sensor data and raise an alert if thresholds are exceeded.”

Terminology and context: In German-speaking contexts, Funktionsbedarf is the standard term for the functional needs that a system must fulfill; in English-language practice, it corresponds to functional requirements. The term is domain-sensitive and typically distinguished from non-functional aspects.