What are project design specifications?

A design specification is an engineering document containing all the fundamental information required
to do the work. It also includes the desired method to be used, the geological conditions that are likely
to be encountered, and the environmental and safety requirements
Engineering Specifications means those records which provide detailed documentation of the
construction, wiring, arrangement and related engineering details of the information processing
equipment prepared by an architect, engineer.

The type of specification can relate to the project or the procurement route – whether it is
performance-based, prescriptive or proprietary – depending on project requirements.

Specifications:

 Are required during the design stage. 

 Form part of the contract documentation. 
 Play a key role in project fulfillment.

What are the needs of project design?

The project design includes everything from who is responsible for completing the project to a
description of the project, its goals, outcomes and objectives. It describes when these goals,
outcomes and objectives will be reached, and the major deliverables, products or features that
will be completed
What are 5 methods of specification?
The following are common types of specification.

 Requirement Specifications. Documentation of a business need. ...

 Design Specifications. ...
 Material Specifications. ...
 Standard Specifications. ...
 Interface Specifications. ...
 Test Specifications. ...
 Performance Specifications. ...
 Quality Specifications. FOMULAR{ IS MD Requirements quality performance}

IMPORTANCES OF SPECIFICATIONS ENGINEERING SPECIFICATIONS

1. The specification provides clear instructions on project intent, performance and

construction.
2. It can reference the quality and standards which should be applied.
3. Materials and manufacturers’ products can be clearly defined.
4. Installation, testing and handover requirements can be identified.
 5. Classification within the specification can be used to support handover and asset
management. 
6. It eliminates the need for information overload on the drawing or model, making
identifying information easier. 
7. A specification can support project costing, not only the materials and products but the
performance and workmanship.
8. Along with the drawings, the specification forms part of the contractual documents,
helping minimize project risk and providing support should there be any legal disputes.
9. It supports client brief interpretation and gives the client assurance that their
commissioned asset is the one being delivered.
10. It is essential for the construction phase and an important part of the soft-landing process,
subsequent asset management and the lifecycle plan.
11. By being clear, concise and information-rich, a specification provides answers to many
onsite construction questions, saving the project team, client and contractor time and
money.
12. After project finish, office masters can incorporate best practices and lessons learnt,
improving efficiency, providing quality assurance and ensuring project consistency. 
13. Office masters also save the team time and money because they can be developed over
time and adapted to suit a project's specifics, drawing on specialist knowledge when
needed.
14. The specification is a living document to be used by the complete project team
throughout the construction phase; its value does not end at the design phase.
15. Along with any variations or value engineering, it becomes a part of the project audit trail
and a crucial part of the handover documents, forming the basis for asset management,
asset maintenance, and even feeding into staff training and human resources policies.

Disadvantages

There are certain limitations of the job specification. Some of the disadvantages are mentioned
below:

1. It is a time-consuming process as it has to be very thorough and complete

2. A job description is time-bound and changes with changing technology and changing knowledge
& skill requirements
3. It can only give a framework of emotional characteristics and personality traits but cannot specify
the experience or forecast complex issues is any

When should you write a specification?

Nowadays, the best practice is to begin specification writing as early as possible in the project
lifecycle. Early-stage specifications can capture information from the client review, documenting
what the client is trying to achieve on the project. Early-stage work also provides a better
understanding of a project's performance requirements. Any information incorporated into the
client's EIR (employer information requirements) and discussions on complexes, entities, spaces,
locations, elements, systems, and products contribute to the specification as it builds.
What is international standard specification?
An international standard is a document that has been developed through the consensus of experts
from many countries and is approved and published by a globally recognized body. It comprises
rules, guidelines, processes, or characteristics that allow users to achieve the same outcome time and
time again.
International Standards contain technical specifications or other precise criteria, which
ensure that materials, products, processes, services, systems, or persons are fit for their
intended purpose
What are the 7 steps of the engineering design process?
The engineering design process is a seven-step process that begins with defining the
problem.

 Step 1: Define. In this step, students formulate what they think about the problem. ...
 Step 2: Ask
 Step 3: Imagine
 Step 4: Plan.
 Step 5: Prototype
 Step 6: Test.
 Step 7: Improve.

The 7 Steps of the Engineering Design Process

The engineering design process is a seven-step process that begins with defining the problem.

Step 1: Define

In this step, students formulate what they think about the problem. Eric points to this real-world
example of defining a problem: some schools require students to keep lunch with them in classes
throughout the day. What problems does this change create? An answer could be that they have
to keep their lunches on the floor next to where they sit directly on the ground.

Problem-solving starts with problem-finding. This step helps to develop critical thinking skills
and the ability to use a different viewpoint to examine a situation.

Step 2: Ask

The next step in the engineering design process is to ask questions about the problem. Students
can ask the following questions:

 What problem is being solved?

 Who is this product being designed for?
 Why is a solution to this problem important?

They have a problem, and now it is time to brainstorm potential solutions. They should list as
many possible solutions as they can to maximize their options. Now is not the time to judge any
ideas. Just let them flow.
Now is also the time to do research. Look at solutions for similar problems that already exist. By
looking at existing solutions, you might come up with new ideas based on them and steer clear of
mistakes made in the past. In the student lunch example, students came up with a list of ideas
that would keep lunches out of the way and off the ground.

This step develops creativity and research skills. The point is not to come up with the right
answer but to create a list of answers.

Step 3: Imagine

Now that there is a list of solutions to the problem, it is time to narrow down the options. Your
students cannot turn all of them into reality, but they can imagine how these solutions will work.
You can start by simply talking through the possible ideas and explaining how they would work.
Many of the ideas will be rejected during this step. If more than one idea still seems viable after
talking through the solution, then students can sketch out a few of their designs to make them
more realistic and narrow down the list even further.

In the school lunch example, students came up with the idea of a hook that can attach to the
bottom of desks to hold their lunch. This step of the engineering design process teaches critical
thinking and reins in the creativity involved in the last step.

Step 4: Plan

By step four, your students know the basics of what the solution will be but have yet to work out
the details. In this step, it is time to refine and improve the solution and break down the path to
solving the problem into smaller steps. When you iterate or improve on a design, you will revisit
this step each time you do.

For the school lunch example, a hook that could attach to the bottom of a desk was determined to
be the solution. But other questions still had to be answered in this step, like how much weight it
will need to hold, how big it will be, and what material it should be made out of.

This step continues to teach critical thinking along with applied engineering because the solution
is one step away from reality, and they must consider the real world in the design.

Step 5: Prototype

By this step, you have a design to build, and it’s time to create a functioning version of your
solution. It could be made of different materials than the final solution and may not be as
polished. The point of this step is to create a solution you can test before you spend time creating
the final product.

The students creating the school lunch hooks used sketchpads and CAD software to design them.
They found out in the process that the line between steps four and five can be blurred and made
changes to the design of the hook they never thought of before, improving its design.
This step shows students that their hard work paid off, they can find success by following the
process, and it takes work to develop the best potential solution. They may have to revisit this
step to improve the design, but they have turned a design into reality.

Step 6: Test

Once a prototype is ready, it is time to test it. Here, the students can use their creations to see if
their designs work. Most likely, students will go through a few tests with a few different
prototypes because there will be additional problems to solve that weren’t thought of in the other
design steps.

Using the lunch hook experience from Eric’s classroom, many of the students saw flaws in their
design right away and knew what parts would work and what features needed iterating. The
students attached their hooks to their desks and used their full lunches to test them.

This step allows students to see which ideas work and which need improvement, giving them a
clearer perspective on the problem and everything that affects the final solution.

Step 7: Improve

Prototypes are built quickly for a reason. Chances are that you will create a few of them while
you perfect the design. Step seven is not so much a step as it is backtracking to the planning
phase and determining what should be changed in your design, building a new prototype, and
testing again.

The students designing the lunch box hook found issues with the size and dimensions of their
hook and were able to reprint and display their designs. This iterative process teaches students
grit because there is a difference between being done and doing their best work.

Bonus Step: Communicate

Both of our experts mentioned that each step requires communication. It is not a formal step but
the why behind all the steps. Also, as a final step, students get to share their learning and their
design.

In the school lunch project, students voted on which design should be used and accommodated
the most types of lunches. By communicating, students can learn to demonstrate how their
design works and the reasoning behind their choices.

- PROJECT CHARACTERISTIC/ATTRIBUTES
 Temporary: Project only exists for a limited amount of time
 Unique: Final product or service is something not present in the
organization. Even though certain components may exist, end
deliverable is not
 Specific Purpose: Project deliverable serves a specific need for the
company. A project involves a single, definable purpose, end
product or result
 Multidisciplinary: Project combines the talents and skills of a wide
group of people – i.e. business, technical, and manufacturing.
 Conflict Ridden: Because projects bring together a diverse
group, objectives of each group can and do conflict.
 Every project is constrained in different ways by its
– Scope goals: What is the project trying to accomplish?
– Time goals: How long should it take to complete?
– Cost goals: What should it cost?
– Quality goals

Getting Started with the Engineering Design Process? Follow These Expert
Tips.

Todd and Eric tell us a few potential challenges using the engineering design process in a
classroom setting. One problem is cleaning up. Designing prototypes can get messy. Their
solution is to assign the clean-up task to students before getting started.

You may encounter some difficulty during the “Improve” step of the process. This happens
because students may think they’ve completed the project without needing to iterate. It will take
time and modeling to get students past this phase. Once they hear the reflections from their
classmates and see new ways to improve their design, they’ll get excited to iterate. It can also be
challenging to fit the whole design process into one class. The solution is to spread the process
over multiple classes if necessary.

The engineering design process allows students to remember where they left off and continue
with the task as if they were right there in the middle of it.