Product Design Specification (PDS) Add/remove

Purpose:

The purpose of a product design specification (PDS) is to get an overview of requirements and criteria that your final solution should live up to in regards to different categories. It will help you gain an overview of the research/learnings you have had and will gain throughout your development phases. It is a great method to use before hosting a workshop as you will have a much more clear vision of what is needed.

Step by step Facilitating tips Materials needed Goes well with Download template (pdf)

Tips to include participants who are not able to:

See

If participants are unable to see, the method could be performed orally as long as you either record it or make someone else write it down ensuring that the data will not get lost.

Focus

If participants feel that the PDS is very complex, divide the method in bits. This could be done by only focusing on one or two categories that are most important to the product in question.

Speak

If participants are not able to speak the method could be performed so that all communication is done through sign language or everything is communicated through text.

Hear

If participants are not able to hear the method could be performed so that all communication is done through sign language or everything is communicated through text.

Think

If participants feel that the PDS is very complex, divide the method in bits. This could be done by only focusing on one or two categories that are most important to the product in question.

Hold

If a participant is unable to hold make sure to have a partner to spar with that can do the writing or use a software for writing that can be controlled with other means than hand gestures.

Move

If a participant is unable to move make sure to have a partner to spar with that can do the writing or use a software for writing that can be controlled with other means than hand gestures. Make sure that the template is either placed at a suitable height for wheelchair users or placed on the table.

Touch

If a participant is unable to touch make sure to have a partner to spar with that can do the writing or use a software for writing that can be controlled with other means than hand gestures.

Overview

Input

Research

Output

Overview of requirements and criteria for your design process.

Complexity

Moderate - complex

Time

Ongoing

Participants

You and your design team

Activity

Core abilities:

  • Research
  • Narrow down comprehensive research
  • Reflect on categories
  • Reflect on requirements
  • Reflect on criteria

Step by step:

  1. Define categories that are enabled within your design. These could for instance be:

    • Safety
    • Materials
    • Dimensioning
    • Using factors/intuitivity
    • Durability
    • Color etc.

    The categories will depend on your task why the above are just examples.

  2. Use the template matrix to fill in all the categories that you found would apply to your design process.

  3. Fill in requirements for each category. Requirements are things that your design must live up to.

  4. Fill in criteria for each category. Criteria are things that would be nice that your design could live up to but it is not a must.

  5. Fill in comments if you feel the need to further elaborate on either the requirement, criteria or both.

  6. Expand/edit your PDS throughout your design process so it reflects your learnings.

When doing this method you should consider:

As a PDS can be rather large, complex and will change throughout your development phases, as you will have new learnings, it could be an idea to include bits of it in your workshop. You could ask the participants in your workshop to e.g. revice it and come up with new categories, requirements and criteria. You could also ask them to perform a PDS without showing them yours. This could be interesting as it would be nice to see if your participants will create one that is similar to yours or if you would get new insights that you have not thought of.

Materials needed:

  • Table/excel → computer
  • If printed → pens and template