A non-functional requirement specifies criteria that can be used to judge the operation of a system, rather than specific features or functions. Examples are accessibility, availability, scalability, security, portability, maintainability, and compliance. What often goes overlooked is cost.

Companies can fail because they don’t consider cost at every stage of the business – from design to development to operation – or because they’re not measuring it properly. The math is simple: if costs are higher than your revenue, your business is at risk.

By considering cost implications early and continuously, systems can be designed to balance features, time-to-market, and efficiency. Development can focus on maintaining lean and efficient code. And operations can fine-tune resource usage and spending to maximize profitability.