req

Req is commonly used as an abbreviation for “requirement” in software engineering, systems engineering, and product development. In this sense, a req is a statement describing a capability, constraint, or quality the system must exhibit. The term is pervasive in documentation, design specifications, and project trackers, where items are labeled with identifiers, descriptions, acceptance criteria, sources, and priorities.

Requirements engineering is the field that focuses on capturing, analyzing, specifying, validating, and managing requirements throughout a project lifecycle. Req items are typically traced to design elements and test cases to ensure alignment between intended behavior and implemented features. In agile environments, requirements may appear as user stories or product backlog items, accompanied by acceptance criteria that define how a requirement is verified.

Beyond its use in engineering, “Req” may appear as an acronym or shorthand in various contexts, and can refer to organizations, repositories, or tools whose names include the term. Because of this potential ambiguity, the meaning of “Req” is often context-dependent and clarified by surrounding information.

Representation of requirements varies. They may be written in natural language, documented in templated forms, or modeled with modeling languages such as SysML or UML. Regardless of format, requirements are typically linked to validation artifacts and traceability matrices to demonstrate coverage and verification.

See also: requirement, requirements engineering, user story, acceptance criteria, traceability.