How Good Was It? - The Epitaph
James W. Shean · Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering/Proceedings of SPIE · 1967
Why all this sophistication in specifications? First, to communicate one's wants in sufficient detail to permit another to unambiguously execute hardware to fulfill these needs. Secondarily, specifications serve as a quasi-legal means to determine when a contract between parties has been fulfilled.