requirements-quality

# Requirements Quality

Requirements quality assessment, INVEST criteria validation, and refinement patterns.

## When to Use This Skill

**Keywords:** INVEST, requirements quality, clarity, ambiguity, completeness, testable, estimable, refinement, MoSCoW, prioritization, acceptance criteria, requirement validation, quality assessment

**Use this skill when:**

- Evaluating requirements against INVEST criteria
- Improving requirement clarity and precision
- Detecting and resolving ambiguity
- Ensuring requirements are complete
- Applying MoSCoW prioritization
- Refining requirements iteratively
- Validating acceptance criteria quality

## INVEST Criteria Overview

The INVEST acronym defines six quality criteria for well-formed requirements:

| Criterion | Question | Red Flag |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **I**ndependent | Can this be implemented alone? | "Requires X to be done first" |
| **N**egotiable | Is there room for discussion? | Over-specified implementation |
| **V**aluable | Does it deliver user value? | Technical-only benefit |
| **E**stimable | Can effort be estimated? | Vague or unbounded scope |
| **S**mall | Can it be done in one iteration? | Multi-sprint scope |
| **T**estable | Can we verify it's done? | Missing acceptance criteria |

## Quick Quality Assessment

### Rapid INVEST Check

For each requirement, score 0-2 on each criterion:

| Score | Meaning |
| --- | --- |
| 0 | Does not meet criterion |
| 1 | Partially meets criterion |
| 2 | Fully meets criterion |

**Interpretation:**

- 10-12: High quality, ready for implementation
- 7-9: Acceptable, minor improvements needed
- 4-6: Needs work, significant refinement required
- 0-3: Not ready, major rewrite needed

### Common Quality Issues

| Issue | Symptom | Fix |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Too vague | "Make it user-friendly" | Add measurable criteria |
| Too large | Multi-week estimate | Split into smaller requirements |
| Untestable | No clear success condition | Add acceptance criteria |
| Dependent | "