Product Specifications

Abstract

Abstract This article treats product specifications as the final step in the sequence of steps from determining product requirements to the development of objectives that provide guidance for detailed descriptions of how a product is to be made. Although the process for determining product specifications may vary depending on the type of product being designed (for example, consumer durables vs. electronics products vs. computer software), the product requirements – objectives – specifications sequence is explained in terms of translation into precise targets or product specifications, which detail in precise, measurable ways how a product is to be made. Product specifications – which may range over various dimensions of a product: physical elements and materials, structure or architecture, control or operating systems, and so on – consist of metrics or measures relevant to a particular product dimension, and indicate the desired level (or value) that is to be achieved for each measure. Several considerations for developing product specifications are also presented.