15 Dec Starting Your Product Specification
Creating a detailed Product Specification is one of the most important steps one can take at the beginning of new product development. Previously, I wrote a post with some tips on how to craft entries in a product specification, but you might still be stuck at the starting line. If the spec defines the entire sphere of possibilities, what needs to be included (and excluded) here?
Most of the specific values of the product specification will come from external sources, as opposed to technical constraints. The spec will include the needs of the end-user, but any design is likely to also involve input from those people between the engineers and the end-users – a contract client, the marketing department, or internal management. In product development, there are very real market pressures to consider regarding sales, user needs, competitors, price, and more that will influence the overall design.
Specifications will vary from product to product, but there are certainly some aspects that are likely to show up everywhere.
Performance
Of course, most devices have to meet performance criteria as a major consideration of their success. This includes factors like accuracy, reliability, appropriate measurement or operating ranges, data logging capacity, or data transmission characteristics. These factors may be defined as minimum and maximum limits, to be determined later based on cost, technology, and other features. Try not to limit the possibilities yet, leaving room for compromises later.
Construction
Even if the materials haven’t been defined because of performance features still waiting to be designed, there are details that can be defined early on. We might define the parameters of a Drop Test, a maximum device weight, or other factors that will influence our choices of materials and assembly. Will the inside of the device need to be accessible for cleaning or service? How will the device be used?
Environmental
When products work fine in the lab and crash in real life, there may have been factors that were overlooked. Long-term problems like corrosion, moisture, dust, and UV damage can cause intermittent failures as the product is used and aged. Short-term problems such as operating and storage temperatures, poorly regulated power, or susceptibility to electromagnetic interference (EMI) can break a device under certain conditions while it seems to work fine at other times. Where will the device be used?
Appearance
Some engineers may not like to consider how a device will look before it is actually working. However, design and appearance are important factors in the usability, marketability, and overall attractiveness of a device. You may have a company color scheme or user interface requirements to meet.
Additional Factors
Depending on the product, there can be a variety of other considerations. For medical devices, safety and regulatory compliance are significant considerations to be determined early in the project. How the user will interact with the device is also important. Additional factors such as requirements for product reliability, serviceability, assembly, and documentation may also be defined. Here’s where we might include any operational procedures like setup or shut-down requirements, calibration, or testing.
Photo credit: Chris Baker
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