What is a “must have”?

Language is important – almost always.

One of my pet peeves is the word “must.“

As in “We must have the feature «x»”, or in “We must do it in this manner.“

From my understanding these are incomplete statements. The missing part is about what happens if we don't.

Complete statements would include the consequences. And thus allow the discussion of the topic. When "We must have the feature «x» to avoid paying a £5 fine” we could easily decide that it is not worth the effort. Whereas if “We must do it in this manner to avoid paying a € 5.000.000 fine” the decision is likely to be different.

So, IMHO a “must” must have explicitly stated consequences in order to make it a helpful addition to a conversation.

till next time
  Michael Mahlberg