SPECIFY

3 REQUIREMENTS
3.1 Key Info

 Design requirements state the important characteristics that your design must meet in
order to be successful.
 One of the best ways to identify the design requirements for your solution is to use the
concrete example of a similar, existing product, noting each of its key features. Here is
how to analyze:
o A PHYSICAL PRODUCT (attachment-1)
o A software product or website
o An environment
o An experience
 To complete the requirements step of the design process, you should write a design brief;
a document that holds all of the key information for solving your problem in one place.
Here is a DESIGN BRIEF WORKSHEET (attachment-2) to help you develop your
own.


3.2 Design Requirements

Design requirements state the important characteristics that your solution must meet to be
successful.

For example, imagine that your problem statement relates to grocery store bags. You want to
design a better grocery store bag--one that uses less expensive material than the paper and plastic
bags that already exist. Your design requirements are the important characteristics that your bag
must meet to be successful. Based on your problem statement, a successful bag would use less
expensive material than existing bags and function properly as a grocery bag. Examples of some
of your design requirements might be that the bag needs to:

 Have handles so that shoppers can carry multiple bags of groceries.

 Hold up to five pounds of food without breaking.
 Cost less than five cents to make.
 Collapse so that it can be stored in large quantities at grocery stores.

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Effective design requirements are:
 Needed to solve your design problem. If it is not needed, leave it out. You'll have enough
other things to work on!
 Feasible. A good design requirement is not just a wish. Ask if you have the time, money,
materials, tools, and knowledge to make it happen.
 Subject to change as you do more research and design. Always ask yourself, is this
requirement needed and feasible? If your answers to those questions change, it is OK to
change the requirement.

Design requirements can fall into many different categories, such as size, cost, ease of use, and
environmental impact, to name just a few. Here is a more complete list of DESIGN
REQUIREMENT EXAMPLES (attachment-3).

One of the best ways to identify the design requirements for your project is to use the concrete
example of a similar, existing product. Examine it in detail-take pictures, and take it apart if you
have permission. Analyze how and why it works the way it does. Every single feature of the
existing project represents a potential requirement for your design. (Of course, your design will
have changes and improvements, so the requirements will not be identical.)

When you analyze an existing product, you build a mental library of techniques, mechanisms,
and clever tricks. You acquire building blocks that you can use to construct your own designs.
As you analyze more products, you can gain additional building blocks to use in your design. All
designers do this!

How many design requirements should you have? For a school project, three to five will often be
a good number. For large, complex projects, there may be hundreds or even thousands of
requirements. Here is more information about HOW MANY DESIGN REQUIREMENTS?
(attachment-4) you should have.

First, as a group, your list of design requirements should provide a complete description of the
key features that will make your design successful. Ask yourself, is anything missing?

Second, as a group, your list of design requirements should be feasible. Individually, your
requirements might be feasible, but all together they might not be. For example, you might have
time (or money or resources) to make one of them happen, but not all of them. Another potential
problem might be that it is impossible to meet two or more of your requirements at the same
time.

For example, imagine that you are designing a toaster for a bagel shop. Two of your design
requirements might be that the toaster needs to be large enough to toast ten bagels at a time, and
it needs to fit on the bagel shop's counter. What if a toaster large enough to hold ten bagels at a
time will not fit on the shop's counter? In cases like this, you must make a trade-off, a
compromise or change in one or more requirements so that they can be met at the same time. In
the toaster example, you would need to decide which is more important: toasting ten bagels at

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once or fitting the toaster on the counter? If the changes to your requirements make it impossible
to solve your problem, you should look for a different problem to work on.

3.3 The Design Brief

To complete the requirements step of the design process, you should write a design brief. A
design brief gathers all the key information for solving your problem in one place. It should
contain:
 A description of your target user.
 A definition of the problem you intend to solve. [Who] need(s) [what] because [why].
 A description of how existing products are used and why they fail to address the problem.
 A list of all the requirements for your design.

For complex products with dozens of requirements or more, engineers supplement the design
brief with detailed specifications such as a product requirements document (PRD) or a product
design specification (PDS).

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ATTACHMENT 1 - How to Analyze a Physical Product
When you start to identify your design requirements, you already know what problem you are
trying to solve. But what does "solving" your problem really mean? Your design requirements
are the specific needs that must be met in order to call your design a solution.

For a physical product, your problem is likely making a task possible or easier for a user to
complete. An example is a pair of crutches. The problem statement is:
People need a way to walk while using only one foot, because they still need to be able to get
around when one of their feet or legs is injured.

1. From the problem statement, you can start asking the right questions to create a list of
design requirements. Pull the major need or needs of your solution from your problem
statement.
Example: The major needs of a pair of crutches are that they help the user to:
1. Walk while using only one foot
2. Get around and mobilize

2. For each need, ask yourself: "What is absolutely essential to satisfy this need?" Right
now, do not brainstorm. Instead, figure out what MUST happen to meet the need in your
future solution. Your answers to these questions are your first design requirements.
(Note: if you can remove your answer to the question and still meet the need, then your
answer is not a design requirement.) The "Needs" table illustrates how to find the first
design requirements for the crutches example.

Major Needs from Step 1 What is Essential to Meet the Need

(Possible Design Requirements)
Allow the user to walk while using only one
 A way for the user to balance
foot
 Light enough to carry
Help the user to get around
 Small enough to transport


1. What are the conceptual requirements/limits of the product you are designing? These are
requirements that are not related to the physical nature of the product, but still must be
met in order to make your solution successful. Examples often include cost and the
timeline of the project.
Example: What are the conceptual requirements/limits of a pair of crutches?
 The crutches must cost less than $30.00.
 The new design must be available in the next six months.

2. What other products exist that serve a similar function to solving your problem?
Example: Products similar to crutches:

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  Other crutches on the market
 Wheel chairs
 Leg braces

Examine these products. If possible, obtain the products themselves and take them apart.
Otherwise, research everything you can about the products. Identify every individual piece of the
product in addition to any features of the product. In your design notebook, draw a vertical line
down the middle of the page. On the left, write down all of the component parts and features that
you see. On the right, write down the purpose for each component or feature. Why is it present?
See Figure 1 for an example related to crutches.

Figure 1: This table shows an example of how to analyze a pair of crutches.

3. Look at the right side of your table from Step 6. Which functions listed here will your
product need to fulfill? Circle these functions, and look at the feature on the left for each.
Is the feature absolutely essential in meeting the need on the right? If it is, then this is a
design requirement, and you should circle it. If it is not, it is a possibility that could
contribute to your design, but not a requirement.

4. Is the product that you are designing going to have to compete with the other products
you listed in Step 5? If the answer is "yes," look more closely at the features on the left
side of your table. If you feel that your design needs to include the feature in order to
keep up with current products, then that feature becomes another design requirement.

5. Will you include any features that are not present in the competing product? What are
they? If they are features that you consider to be "must haves" in order to make your
design successful, then they can be considered your final, additional design requirements.

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ATTACHMENT 2 - Design Brief Worksheet…………………………

Define the problem you intend to solve. [Who] need(s) [what] because [why]:

Describe how existing products are used and why they fail to address the problem:

Describe the target user for your solution:

List the requirements for your solution.

 A good design requirement is needed to solve your design problem. If it is not absolutely
needed, leave it out.
 A good design requirement is not just a wish: you must believe that it is feasible. Ask if you
have the time, money, materials, tools, and knowledge to make it happen?
 If you have conflicts between your requirements, have you investigated making trade-offs
among them?

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ATTACHMENT 3 - Design Requirement Examples
The design requirements for your project will differ from those of anyone else, because yours
will apply to your specific problem statement and the product, system, or experience that you are
designing. In the table are a few examples of design requirements. Your requirements will be
more specific and directly related to meeting the needs of your project's users.

If you are designing a baseball bat, your design requirements might be that the bat needs to be:
 Less than 1.5 pounds.
 Made out of a material approved by the league.
 Able to hit a baseball without breaking.

If you are designing a better form of transportation for students to get to school, your design
requirements might be that the transportation needs to be:
 Free for students.
 Quick: less than one hour round-trip.
 Safe.

If you are designing a website for teachers to post homework assignments online, your design
requirements might be that the website needs to:
 Allow teachers to upload documents.
 Provide a login for teachers.
 Be accessible from schools and teachers' homes.

To help you consider possibilities, here are several tables listing different types of design
requirements. It would be rare if all the ones important to you were here; it would be equally rare
(but still possible) that none of yours are here. Most students will pick only three to five.
Remember that all of your requirements should be needed and feasible.

Types of Design Requirement for General Products

A cost target is almost always a design Aesthetics (how it looks)

requirement  Style (art deco, Victorian, modern,
 Cost to purchase medieval)
 Cost to use  Color
 Cost to repair  Fit and finish (Is it built with care and
attention to detail?)

Geometry Capacity (how many and how big are the

 Size, overall dimensions things it can work with)
 Curvature
Physical characteristics Performance characteristics
 Weight  Accuracy
 Density  Strength
 Melting, boiling point  Reproducibility, repeatability (Does it
 Color always do the same thing given the

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  Transparency same input?)
 Reflectance  Speed
 Surface texture (polished, rough)  Acceleration
 Elasticity  Deceleration, braking
 Hardness  Rolling resistance
 Ductility (ability to be drawn into a  Friction
wire)  Adhesion
 Magnetic properties  Absorbency
 Electrical properties (resistance,  Permeability (Do things leak through
impedance, etc.) it?)
 Impact resistance  Resolution
 Bending strength  Flammability (ability to set on fire)
Viscosity (the thickness and stickiness of a Insulation value
fluid)
Inputs Outputs
 Energy consumption  Product produced
 Fuel consumption  Power
 Labo  Pollution
 Undesirable side effects ___________

Manufacturing considerations Environmental requirements

 Difficulty of making  Operating temperature range
 Equipment or manufacturing  Storage temperature range
techniques required to build the  Water resistance
invention (You don't want to build  Resistance to corrosion
something from metal if all you have is  Compatibility with ___________
a woodworking shop.)  Ability to withstand radiation (called
 Number of component parts radiation hardness)
 Labor requirements
 Means of shipping or delivery

User requirements Regulatory & licensing considerations

 Ease of use  Meets government rules
 Ease of learning  Meets league rules (a sporting product)
 Operator training  Does it require paying a patent or
license fee?

How does it hold up? Acoustic characteristics

 Service requirements  Pitch
 Ease of repair  Sound transmission
 Reliability  Resonance
 Lifespan
 Disposability

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ATTACHMENT 4 - HOW MANY DESIGN REQUIREMENTS?
How many requirements should you have? That's a really good question without a good answer.
You should have neither too many nor too few.

What is "too many" depends on the product. An airliner might have thousands of design
requirements, and that could be just right. For a project that you have time to complete for
school, two or three, or maybe five design requirements are appropriate.

The reality is that experience is very important in deciding how many design requirements are
important. It's another good time to ask your mentors, parents, and teachers for advice, but do so
by asking specific questions. Tell them the design requirements you are considering, and ask
them which ones you might be able to do without.

Here are some other thoughts to help you. If you have too many design requirements, it can
become very difficult to actually design and build a product. Imagine having a friend whose
parents have set ten times as many rules as your parents. Such an imaginary friend might have
difficulty doing things because he or she would always be violating one of the rules. Having too
many design requirements (requirements are a type of rule) creates a similar situation. With too
many requirements, the number of design trade-offs increase, and many design decisions become
unnecessarily complex.

Why might too few design requirements be a problem? If you have too few requirements, you
might get a result that you don't really want. Let's say that you do not specify a cost requirement.
You might end up designing something that costs many times more than what people would be
willing to pay for it. Your design would be a failure. So, don't be a slacker on your design
requirements.

By the way, professional engineers call a design with too many requirements over constrained
(as if it had too many rules) and one with too few requirements under constrained (as if it had
too few rules).

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