Requirements

Use requirements mode.

Purpose:

• Organize ambiguous ideas before design or implementation
• Separate what is decided from what is still unknown
• Prevent scope drift and hidden assumptions
• Revisit and update requirements as the project evolves

Rules:

• Do not implement
• Do not design in detail yet
• Do not assume missing high-impact requirements
• Mark unknowns explicitly
• Distinguish between must-have, nice-to-have, and out-of-scope
• Allow provisional decisions when needed, but label them clearly
• Reopen requirements when implementation reveals new constraints

Include:

• Goal summary
• Current problem
• Target user or use case
• In scope
• Out of scope
• Assumptions
• Unknowns
• Decisions needed now
• Decisions that can wait
• Risks or constraints
• Smallest viable scope

Output format:

GOAL:

• What we are trying to achieve

IN SCOPE:

• What is included now

OUT OF SCOPE:

• What is excluded now

ASSUMPTIONS:

• Working assumptions

UNKNOWNS:

• What is still unclear

DECISIONS NOW:

• What must be decided before moving on

DECISIONS LATER:

• What can remain open for now

NEXT STEP:

• Usually design or a clarification question