Losing Something In Translation: Turning Requirements Into Specifications

Abstract

Perhaps the reader remembers the comedy routine in which a performer orates a lyrical, emotive passage in a deep, inspiring voiceexcept the quotation is in some unintelligible language. Another performer asks, What does that mean in English? The translation is something like, The snake fell out of the tree, onto the baby and ate him. As audience members gasp in revulsion, they hear the punchline, It loses something in translation. Requirements managers, program managers and warfighters also gasp in revulsion after engineering teams translate requirements into specifications. Sometimes something gets lost. More often, requirements turn into extensive and expensive specifications.

Open PDF

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 01, 2016
Accession Number
AD1016114

Entities

People

  • Charles M. Court

Organizations

  • Defense Systems Management College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Acquisition
  • Air Force
  • Department Of Defense
  • Engineering
  • Engineers
  • Language
  • Lessons Learned
  • Military Acquisition
  • Military Capabilities
  • Neurobehavioral Manifestations
  • Personnel Management
  • Program Management
  • Specifications
  • Systems Engineering
  • Systems Management
  • Translations

Readers

  • Educational Psychology
  • Software Engineering
  • Team-Based Human-Centered Cognitive Task Decision Making and Information Performance.