requirements-engineering

# Requirements Engineering

Patterns for translating product vision into clear, actionable engineering specifications.

## User Stories

### Standard Format

```
As a [type of user],
I want [goal/desire],
so that [benefit/value].
```

### INVEST Criteria

Good user stories are:

| Criterion | Description | Example Check |
|-----------|-------------|---------------|
| **I**ndependent | Can be developed separately | No hard dependencies on other stories |
| **N**egotiable | Details can be discussed | Not a contract, a conversation starter |
| **V**aluable | Delivers user/business value | Answers "so what?" |
| **E**stimable | Can be sized by the team | Clear enough to estimate |
| **S**mall | Fits in a sprint | 1-5 days of work typically |
| **T**estable | Has clear acceptance criteria | Know when it's done |

### Story Examples

**Good:**
```markdown
As a sales manager,
I want to see my team's pipeline by stage,
so that I can identify bottlenecks and coach accordingly.

Acceptance Criteria:
- [ ] Shows deals grouped by stage (Lead, Qualified, Proposal, Negotiation, Closed)
- [ ] Displays deal count and total value per stage
- [ ] Filters by date range (default: current quarter)
- [ ] Updates in real-time when deals move stages
```

**Bad (too vague):**
```markdown
As a user, I want better reporting.
```

**Bad (solution-focused):**
```markdown
As a user, I want a pie chart on the dashboard.
```

## Acceptance Criteria

### Given-When-Then Format (Gherkin)

```gherkin
Feature: User Login

Scenario: Successful login with valid credentials
  Given I am on the login page
  And I have a valid account
  When I enter my email "user@example.com"
  And I enter my password "validpass123"
  And I click the "Sign In" button
  Then I should be redirected to the dashboard
  And I should see "Welcome back" message

Scenario: Failed login with invalid password
  Given I am on the login page
  When I enter my email "user@example.com"
  And I enter my password "wrongpassword"
  And I