QA Framework: Specification Guidelines
http://www.w3.org/TR/2003/WD-qaframe-spec-20030210/
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Dominique Hazaël-Massieux (dom@w3.org)
Lofton Henderson (lofton@rockynet.com)
Lynne Rosenthal (lynne.rosenthal@nist.gov)
Dimitris Dimitriadis (dimitris@ontologicon.com)
Kirill Gavrylyuk (kirillg@microsoft.com)

	discretionary choices
a value or behavior may be chosen from a well-defined enumerated set of two or more possibilities;
	optional features
a well-defined feature may be supported or not (if supported, then the requirements are clear and unambiguous)
	implementation dependent values (or features)
it is open ended and undefined, what set of values an element or attribute may have, or the behaviors of a product that implements a feature, etc
	conformance clause
a part or collection of parts of a specification that defines the requirements, criteria, or conditions to be satisfied by an implementation or application in order to claim conformance
	conformance level
a variety of conformance designation. Other designations include conformance category, conformance degree, conformance xxx,... "Conformance level" is discouraged in new specifications, because of confusion with "functional level".
	deprecated
An existing feature that has become outdated by a newer construct or is no longer viable. Deprecated features should not be used and may be removed in some future version.
	dimensions of variability
the ways in which different products that are conformant to a specification may vary among themselves. In this Specification Guidelines document, the dimensions of variability are used to help organize, classify and assess the conformance characteristics of W3C specifications
	discretionary items
deliberate and explicit grants of discretion by the specification, to the implementations, that describe or allow optionality of behavior, functionality, parameter values, error handling, etc.
	functional level
a technology subset that is one of a hierarchy of nested subsets, ranging from minimal or core functionality to full or complete functionally.
	implementation conformance statement (ICS)
a mechanism for providing standardized information about an implementation of a named specification, usually in the form of a questionnaire on which product implementers report about the product's conformance to the specification. An ICS is used to indicate which requirements, capabilities and options have and have not been implemented.
	informative text
text in a specification whose purpose is informational or assistive in the understanding or use of the specification, and which contains no test assertions or conformance requirements.
	level
a commonly used shorthand for functional level.
	module
a collection of semantically-related elements, attributes, and attribute values that represents a unit of functionality. Modules are non-hierarchical, discrete divisions that are defined in coherent sets.
	normative text
text in a specification which is prescriptive or contains conformance requirements.
	profile
a subset of a technology that is tailored to meet specific functional requirements of a particular application community. A profile may address a single technology; or, a profile can also group a set of technologies (i.e., from different specifications) and define how they operate together. Profiles may be based on hardware considerations associated with target product classes, or they may be driven by other functional requirements of their target communities.
	profiling
a method for defining subsets of a technology by identifying the functionality, parameters, options, and/or implementation requirements necessary to satisfy the requirements of a particular community of users.
	strict conformance
conformance of an implementation that employs only the requirements and/or functionality defined in the specification and no more (i.e., no extensions to the specification are implemented).
	test assertion
a statement of behavior, action or condition that can be measured or tested(See also QA Glossary [QA-GLOSSARY].)
	unconditional conformance

	use case
a specification mechanism or technique that captures the ways a specification would be used, including the set of interactions between the user and the specification as well as the services, tasks, and functions the specification is required to perform.
	usage scenario
an instance of a use case, that represents a single path through the use case. Thus, there may be a scenario for the main flow through the use case and another scenarios for each possible variation of flow through the use case (e.g., representing each option).