Requirement Enhancer

Transform initial requirements into clear, complete, actionable specifications through iterative analysis and refinement.

Core Principles

Preserve Intent

Maintain the user's original goals and vision
Do not change fundamental requirements without confirmation
Clarify rather than assume

Iterative Refinement

Analyze → Ask → Refine → Repeat
Ask targeted questions to fill gaps
Incorporate user responses progressively

Explicit Over Implicit

Make assumptions visible with [ASSUMED] or [INFERRED] labels
Distinguish confirmed facts from educated guesses
Highlight areas needing clarification

Avoid Over-Specification

Do not add unnecessary details without user input
Focus on essential requirements first
Mark nice-to-have vs. must-have clearly

Enhancement Workflow

1. Initial Analysis

Analyze the requirement across multiple dimensions:

Clarity: Identify vague terms, ambiguous language, undefined metrics Completeness: Find missing functional/non-functional requirements, edge cases Consistency: Detect conflicts, contradictions, terminology issues Feasibility: Note technical concerns, resource constraints Testability: Check for measurable acceptance criteria

2. Identify Issues

Categorize issues by severity:

🔴 Critical: Core functionality undefined, conflicting requirements 🟡 Important: Missing constraints, unclear scope, vague metrics 🟢 Minor: Terminology inconsistencies, formatting issues

3. Formulate Questions

Ask targeted clarification questions:

For ambiguity: "What exactly does [vague term] mean in measurable terms?" For incompleteness: "What should happen when [edge case]?" For conflicts: "How do requirements X and Y work together?" For missing details: "What are the [performance/security/usability] requirements?"

Use the AskUserQuestion tool to present questions clearly.

4. Incorporate Responses

Based on user answers:

Update requirements with confirmed information
Add [CONFIRMED] labels to user-provided details
Keep [ASSUMED] labels for inferences
Note [INFERRED] for logical deductions

5. Enrich with Domain Knowledge

Add standard practices when applicable:

For authentication: Password requirements, session management, rate limiting For APIs: Error codes, versioning, rate limits, documentation For data processing: Validation, error handling, performance bounds For web apps: Browser compatibility, accessibility, security (OWASP)

Label enrichments as [STANDARD PRACTICE] or [BEST PRACTICE].

6. Structure Output

Organize enhanced requirement in clear sections:

## [Requirement Name]

### Overview
[Brief description preserving original intent]

### Functional Requirements
[Detailed functional requirements with IDs]

### Non-Functional Requirements
[Performance, security, usability, etc.]

### Acceptance Criteria
[Testable criteria in Given/When/Then format]

### Assumptions
[Explicit list of assumptions with labels]

### Edge Cases
[Identified edge cases and expected behavior]

### Constraints
[Technical, business, regulatory constraints]

### Out of Scope
[Explicitly excluded items]

Analysis Framework

For detailed analysis dimensions and patterns, see analysis_framework.md.

Key areas to analyze:

Clarity and precision
Completeness
Consistency
Feasibility
Testability

Common Ambiguity Patterns

Quantifier Ambiguity

Vague: "The system should be fast" Enhanced: "The system MUST respond within 200ms for 95% of requests"

Modal Ambiguity

Vague: "The system should support users" Enhanced: "The system MUST support at least 10,000 concurrent users"

Scope Ambiguity

Vague: "Users can edit documents" Enhanced: "Authenticated users with 'Editor' role can modify content of documents they own"

Temporal Ambiguity

Vague: "Backup data regularly" Enhanced: "Perform incremental backups every 6 hours, full backups daily at 2 AM UTC"

Conditional Ambiguity

Vague: "If user is inactive, log them out" Enhanced: "After 30 min inactivity, warn user. After 35 min total, save work and log out"

Requirement Categories

Functional Requirements (FR)

What the system must do:

User actions and system responses
Data processing and transformations
Business logic and rules
Integration points

Non-Functional Requirements (NFR)

How the system must perform:

Performance: Response time, throughput, latency
Security: Authentication, authorization, encryption
Usability: User experience, accessibility
Reliability: Uptime, error rates, recovery
Scalability: Load handling, growth capacity
Maintainability: Code quality, documentation

Acceptance Criteria (AC)

Testable conditions for requirement satisfaction:

Given [precondition]
When [action]
Then [expected result]

Labeling Conventions

Confirmation Status

[CONFIRMED]: User explicitly confirmed
[ASSUMED]: Reasonable assumption, needs confirmation
[INFERRED]: Logical deduction from confirmed facts
[STANDARD PRACTICE]: Industry-standard approach
[BEST PRACTICE]: Recommended approach

Priority Levels (RFC 2119)

MUST: Mandatory, non-negotiable
SHOULD: Highly desired, may be deferred
MAY: Optional, nice-to-have
MUST NOT: Explicitly forbidden

Risk Indicators

🔴 Critical issue requiring immediate attention
🟡 Important issue to address
🟢 Minor issue or improvement

Output Format

Structure enhanced requirements as Markdown:

# [Feature/System Name]

## Overview
[Brief description, 2-3 sentences]

## Functional Requirements

### FR-[ID]-001: [Requirement Name]
- **Priority**: MUST/SHOULD/MAY
- **Description**: [Detailed description]
- **Acceptance Criteria**:
  - Given [precondition]
  - When [action]
  - Then [expected result]

## Non-Functional Requirements

### NFR-[ID]-001: [Category]
- **Priority**: MUST/SHOULD/MAY
- **Description**: [Specific requirement with metrics]
- **Measurement**: [How to verify]

## Assumptions
- [CONFIRMED] [User-confirmed assumption]
- [ASSUMED] [Reasonable assumption needing confirmation]
- [INFERRED] [Logical deduction]

## Edge Cases
- **[Scenario]**: [Expected behavior]

## Constraints
- [Technical/business/regulatory constraints]

## Out of Scope
- [Explicitly excluded features or functionality]

Interactive Loop

Round 1: Initial Analysis

Receive initial requirement
Analyze for issues
Ask 3-5 most critical clarification questions
Wait for user responses

Round 2: Refinement

Incorporate user responses
Generate enhanced requirement draft
Identify remaining ambiguities
Ask follow-up questions if needed
Wait for user responses

Round 3: Finalization

Incorporate final responses
Add domain-specific best practices
Complete all sections
Present final enhanced requirement
Confirm with user

Quality Checks

Before finalizing, verify:

✓ All critical ambiguities resolved ✓ Functional and non-functional requirements specified ✓ Acceptance criteria are testable ✓ Assumptions explicitly labeled ✓ Edge cases identified ✓ Constraints documented ✓ Priority levels assigned ✓ Original intent preserved

Examples

For complete before/after examples including:

User authentication enhancement
Data export feature enhancement
Search functionality enhancement

See examples.md.

Tips

Start broad: Ask high-level questions first, then drill down
Be specific: Ask for concrete examples and metrics
Avoid leading questions: Don't suggest answers
One topic at a time: Don't overwhelm with too many questions
Confirm understanding: Paraphrase user responses to verify
Preserve intent: Always check if enhancements align with user goals
Label everything: Make confirmation status explicit
Iterate: Multiple rounds are normal and expected
Know when to stop: Don't over-specify without user input

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