määrittelyn

Määrittely, and its genitive form määrittelyn, is the Finnish noun for the act or result of defining something or describing its essential properties. The term comes from the verb määritellä, to define or specify. In Finnish, määrittelyn is used to indicate possession or relation to a specification or definition, as in “the specification’s requirements.”

The concept is used across several fields. In software development and systems engineering, people speak of vaatimusten määrittely or teknisten määrittelyiden laatiminen, which means the process of documenting requirements, expectations, and constraints that a system must satisfy. In product development, tekniset määrittelyt describe performance, interfaces, materials, and standards. In legal or regulatory contexts, määrittely can refer to the precise meaning of terms defined in statutes or contracts. In linguistics and semantics, definiens and definitions may be part of a broader määrittely to clarify terms and concepts.

Types of määrittely can be functional or non-functional, and conceptual or operational. A functional määrittely describes what a system should do, while a non-functional määrittely covers qualities such as reliability, performance, and usability. Operational definitions translate abstract concepts into measurable criteria that can be tested or observed. Formal määrittely often relies on structured formats, checklists, or models, whereas informal määrittely may appear as prose or user narratives.

Effective määrittely supports shared understanding, scope control, and validation. It requires clear scope, explicit criteria, stakeholder agreement, and mechanisms for change management. Poor määrittely can lead to misunderstandings, scope creep, and misaligned expectations. Related terms include määritelmä (definition) and vaatimukset määrittely (requirements specification).