Non Functional Knowledge

Non Functional Requirements are used in software systems design to describe how, and sometimes how well, a system does what it’s supposed to do. They might include things like reliability, security, usability, or anything else that sets the constraints and restrictions for what the system does. They are different from functional requirements which describe what the system should do.

Maybe social systems like teams and organisations require Non Functional Knowledge in how and how well their systems behave. Maybe the depth of Non Functional Knowledge of those acting on and being acted on within the system has a bearing on how successful the system operates.

We need to know more than just what the work is, we need to know how to do it, how to do it well, and how to do it as part of an interconnected system that involves lots of other people.