How do functional and non-functional requirements differ in an AI project?

How do functional and non-functional requirements differ in an AI project?

Functional requirements describe what users or systems can do. Non-functional requirements describe the conditions and qualities under which those capabilities must work.

Use concrete examples

“A creator can save a reviewed script” is functional. “Saved scripts remain available after a restart” describes reliability. “Only authorized project members can read the script” describes an access constraint. A generation-time target needs a specified workload and measurement method to be meaningful.

Make both types testable

Avoid words such as fast, scalable, and secure without explaining the intended behavior. Define representative input sizes, expected concurrency, recovery expectations, and access boundaries. Where evidence is missing, record a provisional target and an experiment to validate it. Test the complete flow under those conditions, including delayed dependencies. Requirements become useful when a reviewer can tell whether the implementation meets them without relying on the developer’s interpretation.