Spotting missing or ambiguous information in a problem description

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Quick Questions

Shade in the A or B circle for each question.

1. A client says: "I need an app that is fast." What is the main issue with this description?

A It is complete because every app should be fast

B "Fast" is vague, so ask how fast, such as a load time in seconds

2. A school wants a booking system but does not say who will use it. What kind of gap is this?

A Missing detail about users: are they students, teachers or parents?

B Missing detail about the colour scheme only

3. Which is a good question to ask the client to fill a gap?

A How many customers will use the system at the same time?

B Can I just guess how many customers there will be?

4. A description says "store the customer data" but not which data. What should you do?

A List it as a gap and ask which data items must be stored

B Store every piece of data you can think of

5. You assume that a gym app only needs to work on phones. What is the best next step?

A Treat it as true and start designing

B Write the assumption down and confirm it with the client

Match the Pairs

Draw a line connecting each item on the left to its match on the right.

Left column		Right column
1"Make it fast" - how fast? (no number given)		AAssumption: users have a phone. Confirm with client?
2Gap: Who will use the app? Ages? Skills?		BNot checking for missing details. Descriptions often leave out users, data or limits, so you should list gaps and ask questions.
3An assumption is a guess you make about a gap, so you write it down and confirm it with the client		CMissing detail about users: the description does not say who the users are, so you record the gap and ask the client
4A good client question targets a missing data detail and asks for a specific answer		DQuestion: What data must be stored, and for how long?
5Description says 'lots of students'. Assume 500 and start building.		EAssuming a number for a vague phrase and building without confirming. The assumption should be listed and the client asked for the actual number.
6Gaps found: none. The description looks fine, so no questions needed.		FVague wording: a word like fast has no measure, so ask the client for a number such as a time limit

Definitions

missing or ambiguous information

Fill in the Blanks

Complete each line of code by filling in the missing parts.

Statement: "The app should load quickly." Gap type: _____ Question: How many seconds is "quickly"?

Statement: "Store each student's results." Gap type: _______ Question: Which data fields are stored?

Statement: "Staff will use the system." Assumption: Staff all have school laptops. Action: _______ it with the client

Gap: the users are not stated Fill it by asking the ______ a question

Statement: "Show the best results." Vague word: "____" Question: What makes a result the best?

Spot the Error

Shade in the letter of the line that contains an error.

Question 1

A Brief: "A fast quiz app"

B Vague: "fast" - how fast?

C Missing: who the users are

D Assume: Year 7s - skip asking

E Ask: "Who will use the quiz?"

Question 2

A Step 1: start coding at once

B Step 2: list missing details

C Step 3: ask the client

D Step 4: then design

Question 3

A Brief: "Make the site easy"

B Vague: "easy" means one click

C Ask: "What does easy mean?"

Question 4

A Brief: "Show the weather"

B Missing: which town?

C Missing: how often it updates

D Ask: "Do you like weather?"

Question 5

A Brief: "App for the canteen"

B Missing: do users pay online?

C Assume: online pay is a fact

D Ask: "Will users pay online?"

Answer Key

Spotting missing or ambiguous information in a problem description

Section A: Quick Questions

B — "Fast" is vague, so ask how fast, such as a load time in seconds

A — Missing detail about users: are they students, teachers or parents?

A — How many customers will use the system at the same time?

A — List it as a gap and ask which data items must be stored

B — Write the assumption down and confirm it with the client

Section B: Match the Pairs

"Make it fast" - how fast? (no number given) → Vague wording: a word like fast has no measure, so ask the client for a number such as a time limit

Gap: Who will use the app? Ages? Skills? → Missing detail about users: the description does not say who the users are, so you record the gap and ask the client

An assumption is a guess you make about a gap, so you write it down and confirm it with the client → Assumption: users have a phone. Confirm with client?

A good client question targets a missing data detail and asks for a specific answer → Question: What data must be stored, and for how long?

Description says 'lots of students'. Assume 500 and start building. → Assuming a number for a vague phrase and building without confirming. The assumption should be listed and the client asked for the actual number.

Gaps found: none. The description looks fine, so no questions needed. → Not checking for missing details. Descriptions often leave out users, data or limits, so you should list gaps and ask questions.

Section C: Definitions

missing or ambiguous information — Details a problem description leaves out or words vaguely. List these gaps, note your assumptions, and ask the client questions to fill them before you design a solution.

Section D: Fill in the Blanks

Statement: "The app should load quickly."
Gap type: vague
Question: How many seconds is "quickly"?

Statement: "Store each student's results."
Gap type: missing
Question: Which data fields are stored?

Statement: "Staff will use the system."
Assumption: Staff all have school laptops.
Action: confirm it with the client

Gap: the users are not stated
Fill it by asking the client a question

Statement: "Show the best results."
Vague word: "best"
Question: What makes a result the best?

Section E: Spot the Error

D — An assumption must be noted and then confirmed with the client. Skipping the check risks designing for the wrong users. It should read 'Assume: Year 7s - confirm'.

A — You read the brief closely and find the gaps before building anything. Coding at once means the gaps are never found or filled. Step 1 should be 'read the brief closely'.

B — 'Easy' is vague wording, and this line treats a guess about its meaning as fact. Log it as vague and ask the client, e.g. 'Vague: "easy" - for whom?'.

D — Client questions must target the missing details (location and update rate). Asking about personal opinion fills no gap. It should be 'Ask: "Which towns, how often?"'.

C — An assumption is a guess that still needs confirming, so it cannot be called a fact. The line should read 'Assume: online pay - confirm'.