Specification

This is part of an A2 page where you will set out exactly what you are going to design and make.

What do I need to do?

A specification is a list of everything that your solution should BE and DO. It should show you have considered the consumers’ needs and the purpose of the product. You need to explain your points.

Make your statements SMART:

SPECIFIC MEASURABLE ACHIEVABLE REALISTIC TECHNICAL

You can use ACCESS FM to help you to write the main points.

A – Aesthetics (appearance, style etc.)

C – Cost (to manufacture / to buy, is it expensive or cheap? Why?)

C – Customer (user group / buyer)

E – Environment (where the product 'lives' i.e. business, travel, home, school etc)

S – Size (overall, component sizes, ergonomics)

S – Safety (to the user, userinterface, to the environment, to the manufacturer)

F – Function (what does it do? how does it work i.e. are there any moving parts?)

M – Materials and Manufacture (what is made from and how do you think it is made?)

Consider these following points also:

·         Ergonomics

·         User interface

·         Manufacture and industry

·         Social/ moral issues

·         Scale of production

·         Product lifespan

·         Maintenance

 

 

Primary or secondary points

A primary specification point is a point that is necessary and vital for the product to be successful or function properly. You will need to highlight this in your specification.

A secondary point is a specification point that is a desirable aspect to your product. It is not vital to achieving a successful product but is something that you would like.

How will the specification point be evaluated?

You will then need to explain how you are going to evaluate that point and test that it has met your original intentions.

Hierarchy of importance.

It is also important that you display the points in hierarchy so that you show which one you think is the most important. It will be different for everyone in the class.

Qualitative and Quantitative

A quantitative specification point is one that can be measured numerically e.g. size.

A qualitative specification point is one that can be measured by reviewing your product e.g. aesthetics.

You can set this out in a table or in paragraphs but it needs to be easy to read and spelling and grammar is important.

Ranking Term Design Criteria Why is it important? How will I measure success? Primary/ secondary Quantitative and qualitative