Must-have requirement
A must-have requirement is essential to the agreed delivery scope. Without it, the intended outcome is not acceptable within that scope.
A must-have requirement is one without which the agreed delivery scope would not be meaningfully usable or acceptable. In MoSCoW this priority is called Must Have. The scope or timeframe being considered matters.
In a hypothetical B2B portal, separating customer prices is a must-have requirement: a customer must not retrieve another customer's prices. Without that access control, the planned approval cannot be given. A different screen style would not substitute for it.
The classification needs a traceable reason and verification evidence. It does not automatically prescribe a particular technology. Marking almost every wish as a must-have hides trade-offs. Priorities need shared explanations and review when conditions change.
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Related terms
- Should-have requirementA should-have requirement matters but is not essential to the delivery scope under consideration. An accepted workaround can initially allow use.
- Requirements catalogueA requirements catalogue organises requirements with identifiers and verifiable details. It helps track scope, unresolved questions and changes.
- Non-functional requirementA non-functional requirement describes a solution’s quality or constraints. It can be as mandatory as a functional requirement.
- Exit strategyA prepared route to switch, take over or retire an IT service in an orderly way.
- Migration costsEffort and expenditure for the planned move of data or functions to another environment.
- Investment costsCosts of building a new or expanded IT capability, as considered in project planning.
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