Non-Functional Requirements in the Cloud: Foundations, Planning, and Implementation
1h 41mBeginner2025-10-02
Authors

Gwendolen Warnick
Course details
When you’re dealing with cloud computing, it can be challenging to understand and prioritize non-functional requirements (NFRs) such as security, privacy, accessibility, reliability, and observability. Join Gwenny Warnick as she outlines the importance of non-functional requirements in every technology business, as well as some of the most important potential legal and compliance impacts to your cloud projects. Get an overview of NFRs—what they are and how to identify them—before turning to the development of NFRs in tech. Test out your new skills along the way with the hands-on exercise challenges at the end of each section. Gwenny demonstrates how to implement your NFRs, explaining how to evaluate the scope of the work required and how to choose among different ownership models for NFRs. By the end of this course, you’ll be prepared to manage NFRs over time, including integrating them into your workflows, tracking them, identifying operational maturity, and leveling up as needed.
Learning objectives
Distinguish between functional and non-functional requirements (NFRs) and identify the most critical NFRs for a given cloud-based project.
Define specific NFRs for a cloud solution across key domains, including security and privacy, performance and scalability, reliability, and sustainability.
Analyse the unique non-functional requirements essential for AI and machine learning systems, such as ethical operation, data governance, and decision integrity.
Develop a strategy for scoping, tracking, and managing NFRs throughout the entire software development lifecycle.
Learning objectives
Distinguish between functional and non-functional requirements (NFRs) and identify the most critical NFRs for a given cloud-based project.
Define specific NFRs for a cloud solution across key domains, including security and privacy, performance and scalability, reliability, and sustainability.
Analyse the unique non-functional requirements essential for AI and machine learning systems, such as ethical operation, data governance, and decision integrity.
Develop a strategy for scoping, tracking, and managing NFRs throughout the entire software development lifecycle.
Concepts
Introduction
- Nailing non-functional requirements in the cloud
- What this course covers and who it s for
Identifying Requirements with Cloud
- Functional vs. non-functional requirements (NFRs)
- NFRs - A key to successful and sustainable business
- Challenge - Identify non-functional requirements
- Solution - Identify non-functional requirements
The Development of NFRs in Technology
- How NFRs in tech evolved
- Software development and NFRs
- Cloud-related NFRs
- AI and machine learning-specific NFRs
- Challenge - NFRs for a software business
- Solution - NFRs for a software business
Compliance and Legal Considerations
- Compliance and auditability
- Legal considerations for NFRs
- Approaches to managing legalities
- AI-specific governance
- Challenge - Which NFRs have legal implications
- Solution - Which NFRs have legal implications
Deep-Dive - Common NFRs
- General principles for NFRs
- Security and privacy
- Maintainability, interoperability, and extensibility
- Accessibility and usability
- Performance, reliability, and scalability
- Observability, recoverability, and deployability
- AI - Decision integrity and ethical operation
- Sustainability
Implementing NFRs - Moving toward Your Target State
- Scoping work on NFRs
- Impacts of NFRs on sizing work
- Ownership models for NFRs
- Challenge - Identify useful approaches for planning NFRs
- Solution - Identify useful approaches for planning NFRs
Managing NFRs over Time
- Considering NFRs throughout component lifecycles
- Tracking NFRs
- Working toward operational maturity
- Challenge - Identify levels of operational maturity
- Solution - Identify levels of operational maturity
Conclusion
- Next steps