Introduction to the Design Specification

1. Design Specification

2. Apart from in Design,
where have you used it before?

3. Success Criteria
Personal Project

4. Importance of the Specification
• It directly influences your design ideas
• It directly influences your final product
• It effects your grade both for this task and then again for the
Evaluation tasks in Stage D (do a good specification now, and have
good reliable tests in Stage D, do a poor specification now and have
poor testing in Stage D) – You cannot change it later – these are the
Success Criteria you must stick to
• The specification shows that you are putting into practice the
knowledge and information you learnt in conducting your research
from Stage A.

5. The same importance as in the PP
• As with the PP, it is crucial to your entire project
• The Specifications are created as a result of you making informed
decisions based on your research
• The Specifications dictate what you must do throughout the
remainder of the project in order to make a successful product

6. Application of
knowledge learntGood research Effective Specifications
Ignoring of
knowledge learntLittle research Poor Specifications

7. Demands, Limits, Wishes
The three categories to consider when writing your specifications:
• Demands – Essentials that your product must: achieve, contain, do,
be, look like, sound like, be made of, etc. These must be achieved by
the final product.
• Limits – Things to avoid completely along the same lines as the above
• Wishes – Ideals, which wouldn’t determine if your products is a
success or not, but could be the ‘cherry on the cake’ if you are able to
achieve them.