Product Design Specification - PDS

The Product Design Specification (PDS) is a very important document in the design
process as it contains all the information necessary for a design team to
successfully produce a solution to the design problem.
Usually divided into smaller categories to make it easier to consider the problem.
e.g.
1 Aesthetics
1.1. Style
2. Safety
2.1

Categories created depends on what kind of specification is begin written. I.e. a

technical specification will not focus too much on Aesthetics etc. but more on
performance and components etc.

There are various kinds of Specifications depending on the focus of expertise.

Brief

PDS

Technical Specification

Performance Specification

Marketing Specification

The Specification is a statement of the characteristics that a design must possess in

order to be a solution to the human need. (Norman et al 2000)

A specification is essentially a means of communicating the needs or intentions of

one party to another. It may be a users description, to a designer, of his
requirements for purpose or duty; or it may be a designer's description, to a
manufacturer's detailed description, to his operator, of the components, materials,
methods, etc., necessary to achieve that embodiment; or it may be a statement, by a
seller, describing suitability for a purpose to satisfy a need or even a potential need,
of a user or a possible user. It may, of course, be some or all of these in one.
Guide to the Preparation of Specifications produced by the British Standards Institution in 1967.

Various kinds of specifications:

Users description to a designer

- also knows as the Brief

Designers description to a manufacturer product design specification

Manufacturers technical description to a purchaser product specification
Some / all of the above

2005 Higher Product Design

Example Product Specification

1. Two CD storage units are shown.

The storage units:

Are manufactured by different companies;

Conform to health and safety standards;

Are marketed and priced differently.

a) Outline a product specification for one of these CD storage units.

(6)

This question appears in Section A of the exam paper and is usually the first
question (to ease you into the exam) therefore, this should not be difficult.
Always read what is annotated next to the products given this should help
with your product specification.

Answer:
The storage unit must:
Hold up to 100 CDs
Be stable
Manufactured from durable materials
Allow easy access to CDs
Display CD titles
Store the CDs in a compact, organised, secure manner
Aesthetics to suit the market niche
Any other suitable statement, e.g. hand size ergonomics to suit
Six statements @ 1 mark each
No sharp corners = 0 marks