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 |

N

Naturalness | Neatness | Necessity | Negotiability | Network competence

O

Objectivity | Obligingness | Openness | Operability | Operation | Operational safety

P

Perceptibility | Performance | Perseverance | Persuasiveness | Pertness | Planability | Plausibility | Policy relevance | Portability | Potential | Power | Precision | Predictability | Predictive power | Preparedness to … | Presence | Prevalence | Professionalism | Profitability | Progress | Promptness | Proportionality | Protectability | Punctuality | Purchasing power | Pureness | Purposiveness

R

Range | Rareness | Reaction time | Readability | 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