EARS Format

EARS Syntax

Easy Approach to Requirements Syntax for clear, unambiguous requirements.

Basic Patterns

Ubiquitous (Always)

The system shall [action].

Event-Driven

When [trigger], the system shall [action].

State-Driven

While [state], the system shall [action].

Conditional

While [state], when [trigger], the system shall [action].

Optional

Where [feature enabled], the system shall [action].

Example Observations

Authentication

OBS-AUTH-001: Login Flow

While credentials are valid, when POST /auth/login is called,
the system shall return JWT access token (15m) and refresh token (7d).

OBS-AUTH-002: Token Refresh

While refresh token is valid, when POST /auth/refresh is called,
the system shall issue new access token.

OBS-AUTH-003: Invalid Token

When expired or invalid token is provided,
the system shall return 401 Unauthorized.

User Management

OBS-USER-001: User Creation

While email is unique, when POST /users is called with valid data,
the system shall create user with bcrypt-hashed password (rounds=12).

OBS-USER-002: Email Validation

When email format is invalid,
the system shall return 400 with error message "Invalid email format".

Input Validation

OBS-INPUT-001: Required Fields

When required fields are missing,
the system shall return 400 with field-specific error messages.

Quick Reference