Characteristic

Definition

A characteristic is a distinguishing feature.

Classification

Sub classes of characteristics are:

- physical characteristics (e.g. mechanical, electrical, chemical or biological characteristics);

- sensory characteristics (e.g. related to smell, touch, taste, sight, hearing);

- behavioural characteristics (e.g. courtesy, honesty, veracity);

- temporal characteristics (e.g. punctuality, reliability, availability, continuity);

- ergonomic characteristics (e.g. physiological characteristic, or related to human safety);

- functional characteristics (e.g. maximum speed of an car).

See also

Property

Notes

- A characteristic can be inherent or assigned.

- A characteristic can be qualitative or quantitative.

- A qualitative characteristic if often expressed an independentised adjective. For example the adjective is 'complete'and the characteristic is 'completeness'.

=Relations

A characteristic is always associated with a thing.

A characteristics can have a value. For example the colour (characteristic) of the car is red (value).

Examples

A

Ability to …| Acceptability | Accessibility | Accountability | Accuracy | Adaptability | Adaptivity| Added value | Adjustability | Affection | Affinity | Affordability | Aimed towards … | Analysability | Anointability | Anticipative capacity | Appealing | Applicability | Approachability | Appropriateness | Attainability | Attractiveness | Authenticity | Authority to … | Autonomy | Availability | Avoidability | Awareness.

B

Beauty

C

Capability | Carefulness | Changeability | Clarity | Clearness | Coherence | Cohesion | Collaboration-oriented | Comfort | Comparability | Compatibility | Competence | Competitiveness | Completeness | Complexity | Compliance with ... | Comprehensibility | Conceivability | Confidentiality | Congruity | Connection with … | Consistency | Containability | Continuity | Contradictability | Controllability | Coping ability | Correctness | Courage | Coverage | Creativity | Credibility | Creditworthiness | Customer focus | Customer-friendliness.

D

Decisiveness | Dedication | Demonstrability | Dependency | Depth | Desirability | Discretion | Disputability | Diversity | Divisibility | Downgradability | Duality | Dynamic

E

Ease. e.g., Ease of operation | Effectiveness | Efficiency | Employability | Energy | Enthusiasm | Environmental friendliness | Equality | Equivalence | Exchangeability | Exclusivity | Expandability | Explanatory power | Expressiveness

F

Fairness | Faithfulness Falsifiability | Familiarity | Fastidiousness | Faultlessness | Feasibility | Fertility | Findability | Fit in-capacity | Flawlessness | Flexibility | Freshness | Friendliness | Full-fledgedness | Functionality | Future-proofness/

H

Habitability | Hackability | Health | Helpfulness | Heterogeneousness | Homogeneity | Honesty | Human orientation

I

Identifiability | Immunity, e.g., to stress | Impartiality | Importance | Independency | Influentialness | Innovative capacity | Innovativeness | Installability | Integrity | Intensity | Interpretability | Inventiveness | Involvement

L

Lawfulness | Learnability | Learning capacity | Legality | Legitimacy | Linkability | Loyalty

M

Maintainability | Manageability | Manoeuvrability | Market orientation | Maturity | Measurability | Mobility | Modifiability | Modificational capacity Motivational capacity Multiformity Mutational degree N Naturalness Neatness Necessity Negotiability Network competence O Objectivity Obligingness Openness Operability Operation Operational safety P Perceptibility Perfection Performance Perseverance Persuasiveness Pertness Planability Plausibility Policy relevance Portability Potential Power Precision Predictability Predictive power Preparedness to … Presence Prevalence Process-oriented Productivity Product-oriented Professionalism Profitability Progress Promptness Proportionality Protectability Punctuality Purchasing power Pureness Purpose Purposiveness R Range Rareness Reaction time Readability Realism Reasonableness Recognisability Recovery time Redundancy Relatability Relevance Reliability Reliability Reliability of supply Reparability Repeatability Replaceability Representativeness Reproducibility Resource behaviour Resourcefulness Response rate Responsibility Responsibility sense Responsiveness Result-oriented Reusability Riskiness Robustness S Safety Sanctionability Satisfaction Scientific in nature Scope Selectivity Self-confidence Self-insight Sensitivity Servitude Shallowness Sharpness Shrewdness Simplicity Simultaneousness Sincerity Single-mindedness Skilfulness Speed Sportsmanship Stability Steadiness Straightforwardness Strength Structure Subsidiarity Sufficiency Surveyability Sustainability Symmetry Synergy level T Tenability Tenaciousness Tendency towards … Testability Thoroughness Thoughtfulness Timeliness Topicality Traceability Transferability Transitional rate Transparency U Unambiguousness Unavoidability Uniformity Uniqueness Usability Usefulness V Validity Value Value in use Variance Verifiability Versatility Visibility Vitality Voluntariness Vulnerability W Well-foundedness Wholeness Willingness Workability

Directly measurable attributes (primary quality) Acceleration Age Capacity Colour Cost-effectiveness Costs Delivery time Dimensions Duration Frequency Height Length Life span Output Periodicity Price Profit Quantity Reaction time Recovery time Response time Size Speed Turnover Volume Weight Width