The product design specification - considering all the angles

Defining your product design specification could be the most important stage of your new product development project - simply because it will define whether or not the result will meet the needs of your market and customers.

Developing new products involves a large number of, often conflicting,  requirements. Your new product will need to be reliable, but inexpensive to make; it will need to be good to look at, but also very durable - and  the list goes on... Some of the issues will be obvious to you, but others won't, particularly if they are concerned with another area of your business, like marketing or technical development.

Considering all the angles is essential, but how do you make sure you haven't missed out a vital issue? At Crucible, we use a detailed check list, developed over many years of working on new product development projects.

Our Design Specification document covers virtually every issue you will need to consider, from who will use the product to how you plan to make it. It is an excellent way of making sure you have captured all the important project requirements that relate to user needs, marketing, technical specifications, timescales, manufacture, and recycling.

You may find that there are questions you can't answer in the Design Specification. Finding what you don't know is one of the most important functions of the document (better to do it now than later, when it is too late!). If you need help with any of the issues raised in the document, please give us call - we'll be glad to help!