A product design specification (PDS) is a statement of what a not-yet-designed product is intended to do. Its aim is to ensure that the subsequent design and development of a product meets the needs of the user. Product design specification is one of the elements of product lifecycle management.

The PDS acts as an initial boundary in the development of products.

PDS vs. product specification

The PDS is a specification of what is required but not the specification of the product itself. Describing the actual product is done in the technical specification, once the product has been designed. The difference is important since describing the product itself at the stage of creating a PDS, effectively constrains the range of alternatives that are considered during the design process.

The distinction can be seen as the difference between "What does the product do?" and "How will the product do it?"

PDS vs. design brief

The PDS evolves from the design brief

Design brief

A design brief is a comprehensive written document for a design project developed in concert by a person representing the business need for design and the designer. The document is focused on the desired results of design – not aesthetics....

. While the design brief outlines the design goal and major constraints and considerations, the PDS goes further to determine the precise limits for the full set of requirements in the product

Product (business)

In general, the product is defined as a "thing produced by labor or effort" or the "result of an act or a process", and stems from the verb produce, from the Latin prōdūce ' lead or bring forth'. Since 1575, the word "product" has referred to anything produced...

 being designed

Design

Design as a noun informally refers to a plan or convention for the construction of an object or a system while “to design” refers to making this plan...

.

See also

• Design brief
  Design brief
  A design brief is a comprehensive written document for a design project developed in concert by a person representing the business need for design and the designer. The document is focused on the desired results of design – not aesthetics....
  
  
• Design specification
  Design specification
  A design specification provides explicit information about the requirements for a product and how the product is to be put together. It is the most traditional kind of specification, having been used historically in public contracting for buildings, highways, and other public works, and represents...
  
  
• Product lifecycle management
  Product lifecycle management
  In industry, product lifecycle management is the process of managing the entire lifecycle of a product from its conception, through design and manufacture, to service and disposal...
  
  
• Specification
• Specification (technical standard)
  Specification (technical standard)
  A specification is an explicit set of requirements to be satisfied by a material, product, or service. Should a material, product or service fail to meet one or more of the applicable specifications, it may be referred to as being out of specification;the abbreviation OOS may also be used...