When the requirements
are ambiguous.

Ambiguous requirements hide several different kinds of uncertainty inside one sentence.

Separate what is known

List the requested outcome, the people affected, hard constraints, acceptance evidence, and deadlines that are actually confirmed.

Expose assumptions

Write each interpretation that would materially change the work. Mark which assumptions are cheap to reverse and which could create harm, cost, or lock-in.

Find the decision owner

Ask the person with authority to resolve high-impact ambiguity. When immediate clarification is unavailable, choose a reversible path, state the assumption, and set a checkpoint.

Define completion evidence

Replace vague adjectives with an observable example, test, threshold, or review. Agreement about evidence often reveals disagreement about the requirement.

Use reflection in its proper place

A new perspective can help you notice an unspoken assumption. It cannot supply missing facts, infer stakeholder intent, or grant permission to proceed.