A specification is a human-made artifact that precisely delineates requirements, constraints, or design criteria for the construction of a system, product, or document. Its parameters are: (1) scope — the bounded domain of what must and need not be satisfied; (2) constraints — explicit limits on form, function, materials, or behavior; (3) acceptance criteria — objective conditions against which compliance is measured. Specifications persist through codification in written documents, diagrams, or machine-readable formats and endure across development cycles as the authoritative reference that all parties must reconcile with. [formal: specificatio | substrate: mind | horizon: a life | explicit: yes | epoch: 0.01]
Accepted ontology entry
specification
A specification is a human-made artifact that precisely delineates requirements, constraints, or design criteria for the construction of a system, product, or document. Its parameters are: (1) scope — the bounded domain of what must and ne…
Definition
Why it is in scope
A human-made document or set of requirements that defines the properties, behavior, or constraints of a product, system, or process. Created by engineers, designers, and standards bodies to ensure interoperability, quality, and reproducibility. Persists through documentation systems, contractual obligation, and institutional memory.
Names and aliases
- specificationen · CANONICAL
Relations from this entry
- cmryhv1ck0102ekkxvvy9d8i7INSTANCE_OF →
Specification is a specific kind of document — a document whose defining feature is that it delineates requirements, constraints, or criteria. A competent speaker would call a specification 'a document'. Nearest kind: document.
- cmrc6dopv00jba9g4op1ivbb1SERVES →
Specification is built and maintained for the sake of communication — its designed purpose is to convey precise, unambiguous requirements. Per Law 8d (SERVES): for whose sake? Specification serves communication by ensuring messages carry exact specifications rather than vague intent.
Relations to this entry
No accepted relations in this direction.
Record identity
- Created
- Jul 30, 2026, 9:21 AM UTC
- Content hash
- d85388cc66b8dd6e9b6c0533e62b827d91502383a2e0faee4d9a1bf0f172229a