define-non-functional-requirements

Define Non-Functional Requirements

Purpose

Help teams explicitly define non-functional requirements (NFRs) — performance, security, privacy, scalability, accessibility, and compliance — before development begins, so they are built in rather than bolted on.

Skill type

Conceptual skill

Use this skill when

• A feature or initiative has functional requirements but no NFRs defined
• Engineering has questions about performance or security targets
• A compliance or accessibility requirement applies and hasn't been scoped
• A product is scaling and NFRs need to be revisited

Do not use this skill when

• The goal is privacy or regulatory risk assessment (use assess-privacy-security-regulatory)
• The goal is reliability SLA design only (use assess-reliability-scalability)

Required inputs

• Product feature or initiative
• Expected scale and usage patterns (rough)
• User segment and context (consumer vs. enterprise, geography)

Optional inputs

• Regulatory context (GDPR, HIPAA, ADA, etc.)
• Performance baselines or benchmarks
• Security requirements from legal or compliance
• Accessibility standards in use

Upstream context

Works best when:

• Functional requirements are defined
• Scale estimates exist

Downstream handoff

Output can feed:

• write-requirements-prd (NFRs become part of the requirements doc)
• assess-reliability-scalability (NFRs inform reliability design)
• plan-risk-mitigation (unmet NFRs are risks)

Instructions

1. Identify applicable NFR categories: performance, scalability, security, privacy, accessibility, compliance, reliability.
2. For each category: define the specific requirement and acceptance criteria.
3. Make requirements testable: avoid "fast" or "secure" — specify measurable criteria.
4. Identify which NFRs are hard requirements vs. targets.
5. Flag NFRs that have cost or timeline implications.
6. Define how each NFR will be validated before shipping.

Output

Provide:

• NFR inventory by category
• Each NFR: description, acceptance criteria, hard requirement vs. target
• Cost or timeline implications
• Validation approach per NFR
• NFRs that require third-party assessment (security audit, accessibility review)
• Open questions for engineering or compliance

Risks / caveats

• NFRs not defined upfront become expensive retrofits — define before development starts
• "Bank-level security" and "99.99% uptime" are not requirements — make them specific
• Accessibility is a requirement in many jurisdictions, not a nice-to-have