How to Define Product Specifications

How to Define Product Specifications

Even if you’re new to the world of product management, you might already be familiar with the term “product specifications” (sometimes shortened to “specs”). A product specification is a document that outlines the requirements of a particular product or feature. Think of it as a blueprint for what a product team is building.

Product specifications can contain a lot of information and present it in a clear, concise format. This includes a summary of the product itself, its functions, what it will look like, and why it’s being built, as well as user stories and personas. 

Now you know what product specifications are, you can begin writing one of your own.

Six steps for creating product specifications

When defining your product specifications, it’s useful to follow a set of steps to ensure you don’t miss anything. Use this list to get you on the right track:

Step 1: Determine the business case

Before you tackle the product specifics, you must first ask yourself the question: “Why are we building this?” Is there a valid business case for the product you hope to build? What is the problem you are hoping to solve? 

Step 2: Use customer feedback

There’s no point in building a product your consumers won’t like or use. Review previous customer feedback from similar products. If they made a complaint about a certain feature, be sure not to include it in your new product. If they made a suggestion for an additional feature, try to incorporate it. 

Step 3: Hold a team meeting

Bring the members of your development team together to discuss the various aspects of your new product. This will help you gain fresh insights, enabling you to look at things from every angle. It will also help your team to feel more involved in the product development process.

Step 4: List your requirements  

Outline exactly what you need to build your product. Some requirements will be mandatory, e.g., you might need to use particular materials to meet safety standards. These precise details are what will bring your product specifications to life.

Step 5: Test your product

Create an early prototype of your product that your users can try out for themselves. This is the best way of determining if a particular feature is user-friendly or even necessary. 

Step 6: Finalize the product specifics

Incorporate your user feedback to refine your product specifications. Make your final adjustments and send your document to the product development team so they can get to work.

So there you have it — all you need to define your product specifications in six easy steps.