Product Requirements: Do You Know What You Need?
BURLINGTON, ON ― April 2021 ― A reoccurring issue that Pegmatis sees when engaged by a new customer to develop a new product is that the customer often has not thought through the product requirements. This situation happens more often than not when the customer is new to product development. Many studies have shown that requirement errors are costly, so imagine the potential costs and liabilities that may result when someone attempts to develop a product without a thorough understanding of the requirements. Pegmatis, a design and development company with a seasoned team of hardware, software and manufacturing specialists, can help.
What are “product requirements”?
There are two very separate and distinct types of requirements: business (base) requirements and solution requirements. Think of it this way: a base requirement is a product need, and a solution requirement is a response designed to satisfy that need or a part of that need.
Let’s use a scalpel design to illustrate this. Scalpel designers will often use stainless steel to build a scalpel. When someone new to the field wishes to design a scalpel, they might consider the use of stainless steel to be a "requirement," which is not correct. The use of stainless steel is a solution requirement rather than a base requirement. Examples of some base requirements might include: the scalpel shall be constructed from a material that must maintain a very sharp edge; must be resistant to sterilization processes; and will not break during medical procedures.
If this were the extent of the base requirements, stainless steel would likely be adequate to construct the scalpel. However, a deeper investigation of the product needs might find that this particular scalpel is being designed for use during MRI procedures. Therefore, this new base requirement would make the use of stainless steel inadequate given the magnetic interaction between stainless steel and MRI technology.
Following are some essential areas of concern that should be explored for product requirements: Durability, usability, certification, functional, environmental, security, safety and scalability.
Pegmatis capitalizes on experience and technology to engineer a better future. For more information, visit www.pegmatis.com.
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