Characteristic

Definition

A characteristic is a distinguishing feature.

Classification

Classification A

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).

Classification B

Sub classes of characteristics are:

- qualitative characteristics (e.g., clarity)

- quantitative characteristics (e.g., length)

Classification C

Sub classes of characteristics are:

- inherent characteristics (e.g., accuracy)

- assigned characteristic (e.g., price)

See also

Property

Notes

- A characteristic can be inherent or assigned.

- 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 combination of a characteristic and a thing is a focus area. For example the accuracy (characteristic) of data (thing).

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

Examples

Qualitative charcateristics

A

Ability to …| Accelartation | 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 | Cost-effectiveness | 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 | Level of | 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 | Reparability | Repeatability | Replaceability | Representativeness | Reproducibility | Resourcefulness | Response rate of time | Responsibility | Responsibility sense | Responsiveness | Reusability | Riskiness | Robustness |

S

Safety | Sanctionability | Satisfaction | 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

Unavoidability | Uniformity | Uniqueness | Usability | Usefulness

V

Validity | Value | Value in use | Variance | Verifiability | Versatility | Visibility | Vitality | Voluntariness | Vulnerability

W

Well-foundedness | Wholeness | Willingness | Workability

Qualitative charcateristics

Acceleration | Age | Capacity | Colour | Costs | Delivery time | Duration | Frequency | Height | Length | Life span | Periodicity | Price | Quantity | Reaction time | Recovery time | Response time | Size | Speed | Turnover | Volume | Weight | Width | and all other fysical quantities