> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://experience-digital-transform.gitbook.io/experience-digital-transformation/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://experience-digital-transform.gitbook.io/experience-digital-transformation/building-block/module-2-break-the-service-down-before-you-design-it/2.2-write-down-what-was-asked-before-anyone-designs.md). # 2.2 Write down what was asked before anyone designs One entry for each separate thing asked, in the customer's words, with where it was said. {% embed url="" %} Write down what was asked before anyone designs (\~5 min) {% endembed %} **Watch first (\~5 min).** Then read on: the page carries what the video says, and the AI usage tip. > **Single message.** One entry for each separate thing asked, in the customer's words, with where it was said. ## The concept Months into a project, the supplier says a feature was never asked for. The ministry says it was. Nobody can point to the sentence. Your job is to make sure that, from the first week, somebody can. The answer is a register of what was asked. It lists every separate thing the customer asked for, one entry each. Each entry keeps the customer's own words, in quotation marks, and says where they were said: a law and its article, the minutes of a meeting, a letter from the minister. It is drawn from your organisation's own documents, the law, the mandate and the requests, which are kept as received and never edited. It is written before anyone designs anything. Later, every part of the design is measured against it, so it is the one list the design did not write. Here are five entries from the register of Progressa's quality authority, PHEQA, drawn from its Higher Education Regulations. An application is made through PHEQA's self-service. PHEQA inspects before it recommends. The minister decides the licence. The register of institutions is open to the public. A person aggrieved by a decision of PHEQA may ask the minister to review it. Each entry quotes its article word for word and names it, so anyone can open the regulation and check. Each is one sentence of the regulation, not a summary of a chapter. Two habits make a register useful. First, one thing per entry. A sentence that asks for three things becomes three entries, because each may be met, changed or dropped on its own. Second, for each entry the analyst writes in plain words what would show that it is met. For the inspection, that is: no recommendation can be sent to the minister for an application with no recorded inspection. Now the Registrar of PHEQA can tell whether a later design keeps the promise. Reading the text closely also shows what it does not say. Article 22 gives the right to a review, but no period for asking. Article 14 opens the register to the public, but does not say whether that includes the name of the person who runs an institution. Neither gap is filled with a guess. A guessed period would look complete and could be wrong. Each becomes a question with an owner and a date: the Director of Higher Education at the ministry for the first, the Registrar of PHEQA for the second. An AI assistant can do the first pass, splitting a long regulation into entries in minutes. But the assistant only proposes. The analyst rules on every entry: accept it, amend it, or set it aside with a reason, a date and a name. An entry that comes back with no article beside it is struck out, unless somebody can say where it was asked. In Progressa, the Registrar of PHEQA then reads each entry against its article before she accepts the register. Do the same: pick three entries at random and open the article each one cites. {% hint style="success" %} **The worked example of this subtopic** is [E2-2](/experience-digital-transformation/building-block/the-worked-examples/e2.2-five-entries-of-pheqas-register-of-requirements.md), built for Progressa. {% endhint %} ## Your turn — Split an official text into entries of the register {% hint style="success" %} **💡 AI usage tip** · Split an official text into entries of the register **Bring:** The official text with its article numbers. **Get:** A draft register: one entry per thing asked, in the text's own words, with its source line, and a list of open questions. **Time:** \~10–15 min · **Assistant:** any; the tips are tool-neutral. **With the kit:** `requirements-catalogue` — helps the team write the register of what the client asked for. Optional: the tip runs bare; see [the kit](https://experience-digital-transform.gitbook.io/experience-digital-transformation/government-enterprise-architecture-gea/developing-a-gov-enterprise-architecture-gea/start-here/the-ea-plays-kit). **Watch for:** An entry keeps the official's own words. {% endhint %} **The problem it solves.** A team receives a regulation, a minister's letter or the minutes of a meeting and must turn it into the register of what was asked before design begins. Done by hand, entries merge, lose their source or drift from the official's words. {% tabs %} {% tab title="Prompt" %} Copy the prompt, replace the bracketed parts with your own context, and run it in the AI assistant of your choice. Never paste personal data or unpublished documents — see [How to use the plays](https://experience-digital-transform.gitbook.io/experience-digital-transformation/government-enterprise-architecture-gea/developing-a-gov-enterprise-architecture-gea/start-here/how-to-use-the-plays). ``` Below is an official text that says what a new service must do in [country X] [paste the text, keeping its article or paragraph numbers]. Split it into entries of a register of requirements. For each entry give: (1) a number, R-01, R-02 and so on; (2) what was asked, quoted word for word from the text, one separate thing per entry; (3) where it was said: the article, paragraph or line; (4) in plain words, what would show that the entry is met; (5) the kind: a function the service performs, or a constraint it must respect. Where one sentence asks for several things, make one entry for each. Do not add anything the text does not say. Then list the questions the text leaves open, each with the entry it arises from and why it matters. Output: a table of entries, then a table of open questions with an empty column for the owner. ``` [Open in Claude](https://claude.ai/new?q=Below%20is%20an%20official%20text%20that%20says%20what%20a%20new%20service%20must%20do%20in%20%5Bcountry%20X%5D%20%5Bpaste%20the%20text%2C%20keeping%20its%20article%20or%20paragraph%20numbers%5D.%20Split%20it%20into%20entries%20of%20a%20register%20of%20requirements.%20For%20each%20entry%20give%3A%20%281%29%20a%20number%2C%20R-01%2C%20R-02%20and%20so%20on%3B%20%282%29%20what%20was%20asked%2C%20quoted%20word%20for%20word%20from%20the%20text%2C%20one%20separate%20thing%20per%20entry%3B%20%283%29%20where%20it%20was%20said%3A%20the%20article%2C%20paragraph%20or%20line%3B%20%284%29%20in%20plain%20words%2C%20what%20would%20show%20that%20the%20entry%20is%20met%3B%20%285%29%20the%20kind%3A%20a%20function%20the%20service%20performs%2C%20or%20a%20constraint%20it%20must%20respect.%20Where%20one%20sentence%20asks%20for%20several%20things%2C%20make%20one%20entry%20for%20each.%20Do%20not%20add%20anything%20the%20text%20does%20not%20say.%20Then%20list%20the%20questions%20the%20text%20leaves%20open%2C%20each%20with%20the%20entry%20it%20arises%20from%20and%20why%20it%20matters.%20Output%3A%20a%20table%20of%20entries%2C%20then%20a%20table%20of%20open%20questions%20with%20an%20empty%20column%20for%20the%20owner.) *(pre-fills the prompt in a new chat; check the bracketed parts before sending)* *What to bring and what you get are in the box above.* {% endtab %} {% tab title="Example input" %} {% hint style="warning" %} **Draft worked example, 2026-10-05.** Progressa is the fictional country used across these courses. The input below and the output in the next tab were written for this page to show a typical run of the prompt; they are simplified, and they have not been checked as the worked examples of the method have. {% endhint %} The bracketed parts of the prompt were replaced with the following: **\[country X]:** Progressa. **\[paste the text, keeping its article or paragraph numbers]:** four articles of the Higher Education Regulations of 2025: * Art. 6(1): "An application for a licence shall be made to the Authority through its electronic self-service by the person who intends to operate the institution." * Art. 9(2): "The Authority shall inspect the premises and facilities of the proposed institution before it makes a recommendation to the Minister." * Art. 11(1): "The Minister shall decide whether to grant the licence, having regard to the recommendation of the Authority." * Art. 22(1): "A person aggrieved by a decision of the Authority may request the Minister to review the decision." {% endtab %} {% tab title="Example output" %} {% hint style="warning" %} **Draft: model output, shortened and unverified.** Read it with the notes in the next tab, not on its own. {% endhint %} | Entry | What was asked | Where | What would show it is met | Kind | | ----- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------- | | R-01 | "An application for a licence shall be made to the Authority through its electronic self-service" | Art. 6(1) | An application can be lodged online and PHEQA sees it | Function | | R-02 | "by the person who intends to operate the institution" | Art. 6(1) | Only the intended operator, signed in, can lodge it | Constraint | | R-03 | "The Authority shall inspect the premises and facilities of the proposed institution" | Art. 9(2) | An inspection is recorded for each application | Function | | R-04 | "before it makes a recommendation to the Minister" | Art. 9(2) | No recommendation can be sent without a recorded inspection | Constraint | | R-05 | "The Minister shall decide whether to grant the licence" | Art. 11(1) | The licence is granted only on the minister's decision | Constraint | | R-06 | "A person aggrieved … may request the Minister to review the decision within 30 days" | Art. 22(1) | The self-service offers the request for 30 days after a decision | Function | **Open questions** | Question | Arises from | Why it matters | Owner | | ------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------- | --------------------------------------------------- | ----- | | Does "premises and facilities" include a second campus? | R-03 | The inspector must know what to visit | | | Must the minister follow the recommendation? | R-05 | Decides whether a refusal against advice is allowed | | | Who counts as "aggrieved": only the applicant, or others too? | R-06 | Decides who may see the request in the self-service | | | {% endtab %} | | | | {% tab title="Reading the output" %} This is the teaching part of the tip. Work through the output the way a chief architect would: what is earned, what is invented, what is missing.
1. One thing per entry The assistant split article 6(1) and article 9(2) into two entries each, and every split holds: who may apply is a separate constraint from where they apply. The tests in the fourth column are close to what Progressa's analyst wrote, though R-01's "PHEQA sees it" should say who sees it and what.
2. "Within 30 days" is not in the article R-06 quotes article 22(1) with "within 30 days" added inside the quotation marks. The article gives the right and no period. The assistant filled the gap that Progressa's register records as an open question for the Director of Higher Education. The safeguard catches it: the analyst opens article 22(1), compares the words, and turns the period back into a question.
3. The owner column stays empty The prompt left the owners blank, as it should. Your organisation names them: in Progressa, the Director of Higher Education for the review period and the Registrar of PHEQA for the questions about inspection.
{% hint style="danger" %} **Safeguard.** An entry keeps the official's own words. The analyst rules on every entry, and nothing the prompt adds without a source line is kept. The owner of each open question is named by your organisation, not by the prompt. {% endhint %} {% endtab %} {% tab title="What next" %} Copy the entries you accept into the blank [register of requirements](/experience-digital-transformation/building-block/the-blank-instruments/the-register-of-requirements.md) and compare them with [Progressa's five entries](/experience-digital-transformation/building-block/the-worked-examples/e2.2-five-entries-of-pheqas-register-of-requirements.md). In [2.4](/experience-digital-transformation/building-block/module-2-break-the-service-down-before-you-design-it/2.4-every-goal-named-and-each-tied-to-what-was-asked.md), every goal of the service is checked against this register. {% endtab %} {% endtabs %} ## Sources This subtopic cites no public source. Its content is the specification-driven method itself, described at the level of the manager. --- # Agent Instructions This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. Learn more at gitbook.com. ## Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the following URL with the `ask` and `goal` query parameters: ``` GET https://experience-digital-transform.gitbook.io/experience-digital-transformation/building-block/module-2-break-the-service-down-before-you-design-it/2.2-write-down-what-was-asked-before-anyone-designs.md?ask=&goal= ``` `ask` is the immediate question: it should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. `goal` is what the user is ultimately trying to achieve, the reason they need the answer. Sharing it helps GitBook give you a better, more relevant answer. A goal is most helpful when it describes the outcome the user wants rather than restating the question. For example, with `ask=how do I create an API token`, a goal like `automate deployments from our CI pipeline` lets GitBook tailor the answer to that use case. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.