A process that once took “about five minutes” does not automatically need a five-minute deadline. An observation, an estimate, a target, and an enforceable limit are different claims. Before writing a number into a requirement, establish what it represents, how it was measured, and what practical consequence follows if the result varies.
Why an observed duration can become a misleading requirement
Dieter Goetz’s October 5, 2026 HackerNoon article, “When ‘Five Minutes’ Becomes a Requirement”, describes a familiar wording shift: someone recalls that a process took about five minutes, and a specification turns that recollection into “The process shall complete within five minutes.” The sentence is measurable, but its precision can make uncertain information look settled.
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The original observation might have been one timed instance, an average, a maximum, a variable result, or an estimate recalled in an interview. Those interpretations do not support the same requirement. Once the number becomes a hard boundary, engineers, testers, suppliers, and project managers may treat it as authoritative even though its basis was never established.
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A defensible numerical requirement keeps three things distinct:
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- Evidence: What was observed or estimated, and under what conditions?
- Interpretation: Does the value represent a typical result, an average, a target, a maximum, or something else?
- Threshold: What boundary must the system meet, and why does crossing it matter?
For example, “about five minutes” may be a useful clue about expected duration. It does not, on its own, establish that five minutes is the acceptable maximum. A requirement should preserve the path from source evidence to interpretation to the chosen boundary, rather than allowing the wording to imply certainty the evidence does not provide.
Ask whether a small change matters
Goetz proposes practical questions for testing whether a number belongs in a requirement: “Where did the five minutes come from?” and “What evidence justifies this precision?” He also asks: “If ‘5 minutes’ became 5 minutes 10 seconds, would anybody care?” Consider the same question at 5 minutes 30 seconds. These are diagnostic prompts, not measured findings.
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The answer depends on the use case. A small delay might have no meaningful operational effect, or it might matter because of a user need, process dependency, or physical constraint. Identify who would notice the difference and what would happen before choosing a threshold. If no consequential boundary can be identified, the original number may not belong as a hard requirement.
Review a precise number before making it binding
- Trace its origin. Identify whether it came from a timed observation, repeated observations, an estimate, or another source.
- Classify what it means. Decide whether it is an average, target, maximum, minimum, contractual threshold, safety boundary, or something else. Do not infer a maximum from a single observed duration.
- Check the measurement conditions. Record what process was timed and the circumstances that could affect the result. Without that context, the value may not describe the cases the requirement is meant to cover.
- Test the consequence of variation. Ask where a stakeholder, user, process, or physical constraint would notice a change, and what the consequence would be.
- Choose the threshold and tolerance separately. Set a boundary that reflects the evidence and practical consequence, then state any allowed variation explicitly.
- Keep the rationale with the requirement. Preserve the source information and interpretation so reviewers can see why the boundary was chosen.
This is a review approach based on Goetz’s guidance, not a formal standard. Its purpose is to prevent a crisp sentence from obscuring an uncertain measurement or an unexplained decision.
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Make variability explicit when the requirement needs it
A requirement can describe a proportion of cases rather than implying that every instance must meet a single limit. Goetz gives “95% of transactions shall complete within six minutes” as an illustrative formulation. It is not a measured result or a recommended threshold for any particular service.
For a real system, the appropriate percentage and duration must come from its use case, supporting evidence, and stakeholder agreement. A statistical condition makes scope clearer only if the chosen values are justified; adding a percentage does not repair an unsupported time limit.
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Precision should be earned
A number can be useful without being exact, and a requirement can be testable without pretending that its evidence is more precise than it is. As Goetz puts it, “Precision in the specification should never exceed precision in the evidence without a reason.” If a tighter boundary is needed, state the reason and the consequence it serves.
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