Structured Requirements for DomainKey Identified Mail (DKIM) Standard Verification

The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) publishes Request for Comment (RFC) artifacts to standardize internet protocols, technologies, and architectures. Often the RFC requirements may not align to well-defined requirement standards promoted in systems engineering. This paper demonstrates how existing RFC documentation for DomainKey Identified Mail (DKIM) is improved by implementing structured requirements. Using ISO 29418 as a reference for writing good requirements, this paper demonstrates how existing RFC requirements could be transposed to well-defined requirements. A structured approach removes ambiguity making the RFC more precise. The results of this approach show the syntaxial structure of a requirement. Structured requirements provide an immediate benefit to an RFC by adding clarity and generating artifacts for use in systems engineering (SE) methodologies and requirement management (RM) systems.