SPECIFICATION PRACTICE

WISHES, WANTS AND WORDS

A Specification [Accurately] Communicates

What you Want Done

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 Topics
1. Engineering
2. The Specification
3. Context & Contractual
4. Hierarchy
5. Requirements elicitation
6. Specification structure
7. Requirements verification
8. Contentious issues
9. Specification language
10. Processing the specification
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Engineering

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 What does “engineering” do?
WHAT DOES IT
DO?
1. Functional description
FORM
FOLLOWS
2. Architecture/configuration FUNCTION

HOW WELL
3. Performance DOES IT DO IT?

DOES IT MEET
REQUIREMENTS
4. Effectiveness ?
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OVERVIEW OF THE ENGINEERING PROCESS

MULTI-LEVEL, MULTI-STAGE

EFFECTIVENESS
USER REQ

FUNCTION ARCHITECTURE PERFORMANCE

COMPONENT DESIGN 6
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 The V Model
Validate

EFFECTIVENESS

Validate

USER REQ

Test

FUNCTION
PERFORMANCE
Test

ARCHITECTURE
Test

COMPONENT DESIGN

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The Specification

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 What is a specification?
• Specifications are contract documents that are used to

communicate
1. a project’s requirements and

2. the criteria by which the owner will verify

conformance with those requirements

What is a specification not?

These should (ideally) not be in a specification:

• Contractual requirements
Use Conditions of contract
• Project management requirements Use Project Management plan

o Timing/programme

o Cost/budget (unless cost is a design parameter)

• Commercial requirements Use Terms of trade, business plan

• Questionnaires used by bidders

Use Conditions of Tender

Poll #1 10

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 Key inputs to specification development

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Specification Context & Contractual

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 Where do specifications fit?

CONTRACT
SPECIFICATION =
= “terms”
“what” Legal
Technical

PROJECT PLAN
=
“how”
Procedural
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Specification - Classification
We can classify specifications into the following :
A. Prescriptive
• Descriptive
• Reference
• Method
B. Performance (functional)
C. Composite/Mixed
D. End result
E. By sample
F. Quality Assurance
G. Warranty
H. Proprietary
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 Main Categories
• Prescriptive
• States the client’s requirements mostly in terms of process –
how it’s done

• Design or method (or both) prescribed

• Performance/Outcome Based
• States the client’s requirements mostly in terms of outcome.
• These give contracting entities more flexibility to meet
contract requirements
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Specification Hierarchy

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 Specification Hierarchy/Tree

• Developing a specification tree is one element of system

design whereby the system is decomposed into its
constituent parts

• Essentially highlights/determines
• items to be purchased versus
• those to be developed and
• establishes the framework for the integration and test
programme
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https://history.nasa.gov/rogersrep/v4p170a.jpg 18

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 https://www.ibm.com/developerworks/cn/rational/nonfunctional-aspects-togaf-archimate/image003_lg.jpg 19
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Requirements

System

Performance

Subsystem

Module

Test
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http://www.bfs-eta.de/ed-ld/normen-standards-richtlinien/bilder/ipc-specification-tree-800.gif 21

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Requirements Elicitation

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 Questions to ask

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Specification Structure

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 Specification structure
• A specification represents

• a NUMBERED requirement
3.2.1.1 The shut-off valve shall be of a fail-safe type

• a NUMBERED test entity.

4. 3.2.1.1 The shut-off valve fail-safe operation shall be

demonstrated using a simulated emergency

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Specification structure

NUMBERED NUMBERED
requirements
test entities
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 A Suggested Specification Format
1.0 SCOPE

2.0 APPLICABLE DOCUMENTS

3.0 REQUIREMENTS

4.0 VERIFICATION

4.1 Responsibility For Inspection

4.2 Special Tests And Examinations

4.3 Requirements Cross Reference

5.0 PREPARATION FOR DELIVERY/COMMISSIONING

6.0 NOTES
(acronyms, abbreviations, glossary, design, intended use)
10.0 APPENDIX NAME 29

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An alternative format:
CBI Structure
(coordinated building information)

Co-ordinated Building Information

(Co-ordinated Building Information) = classification system designed

by and for members of the construction industry, to co-ordinate the
5 main information sources: drawings; specifications; quantities; technical
and research information; trade information and publications.
CBI is based on the European CAWS (Common Arrangement of Work Sections)
system (developed to replace CI/Sfb) and the ISO-sponsored Uniclass project.
https://www.masterspec.co.nz/industry-resource/cbi-classification-and-coding-overview-1130.htm
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 Requirements
Validation & Verification

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Van Halen and the Brown M&Ms

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 VALIDATION
• So, what is validation?

DONE THE RIGHT THING?

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VERIFICATION
• So, what is verification?

DOING THINGS RIGHT?

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 Some contentious issues

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Responsibility Issues
• Design or Method-based (Prescriptive)
• detailed (prescriptive) outcomes
• OWNER deemed to warrant that the specifications
and other design information it provides to the
contractor are accurate and suitable

(= HOW)

• Performance-based (Outcome)
• general performance/functional objectives
• allowing the CONTRACTOR to select and be held
responsible for design solutions, materials, and
methods to meet/exceed specified performance criteria
(= WHAT) 3838

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 Performance Specification
Client interference
• Owner/Client can potentially jeopardize its rights to shift
the risk of achieving performance specifications to the
contractor by interfering with the design or construction
process
• by modifying requirements –
• ultimately modifying the design
• and/or also changing work scope

Substantial interferences will constitute a breach of

contract by the client

• Effectively negate risk- shifting process

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Disputes over responsibility

Should the constructed product prove defective or fail to meet
specified performance requirements

Sorting out issues of liability often hinges upon:

1. which aspects are considered design or prescriptive

requirements prescribed by the owner;

2. which aspects of construction are based on a

performance requirement, hence, are under the

contractor’s control; and

3. whether these requirements conflict in the specifications.

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 Specifying by Sample (a note)

• Offers a relatively simple way to ensure a desired quality

standard is met.
• Particularly useful in determining the standard of naturally
sourced materials such as sand, stone, clay, etc.
• Alternately a proprietary product of known quality can be
used as a benchmark for contractors to match or surpass.

NOTE
Qualify the sample – Re-qualify any new source
4141

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Open or Closed? Latitude

• Is the specification intended to be “open” (i.e. allowing

the tenderer/contractor to offer “equal” alternatives
to materials or products specified)?
• When the matter of substitutions arises, is there a set
format for contractors and contract administrators to
follow?
• “Closed” - what is specified must be used

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 Substitutions
– brand or equal
• The standard of performance applicable to the “or equal” is

that it must be functionally equivalent to the brand

name product, but not necessarily the same in every detail

• The substitute does not have to comply with every detail of the

specification (or specified item), but only function as well as

the specified product

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Substitutions
– impossible to meet original
• Should the original specifications be impossible to meet, the
contractor assumes the risk of impossibility of performance
when it proposes and promises to perform under its own
substitute approach

• Contractor will be liable if the substitute does not work ase

• contractor will have full knowledge of the perils of performance
• enters into the contract for a substitute with eyes wide open.

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 Specification Language

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Imperatives:
• Shall Used to dictate the provision of a functional capability.

• Should Not used often as an imperative statements; however, when

used, the statement always reads weak. Avoid using Should.
• Weaker auxiliary verbs "will," "should" and "may" do not express a
requirement.

• Must or must not Most often used to establish performance

requirement or constraints.
• Is required to Used as an imperative in statements when written
in passive voice. Not preferred.
• Are applicable Used to include, by reference, standards,
or other documentation as an addition to the requirement being
specified.
• Responsible for Used as an imperative that are written for
systems with pre-defined architectures.
• Will Used to cite things that the operational or development
environment provides to the capability being specified. For example, The
vehicle’s exhaust system will power the ABC widget 46
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 The slash mark and/or
• Properly called a "virgule," the slash mark is often found in
draft engineering specifications.
• Never use one in a specification.

• In fact, it's not even good form in ordinary writing.

• When we write A/B, we usually mean "either A or B" or "either
A or B or both" or "both A and B" or "number of A's divided by
number of B's.” There's no telling which one.

• In most cases you'll have to write "A or B or both," or

whatever you really meant.
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Modifiers
Doctrine of the last antecedent

The flange shall be fastened by nuts and bolts of

stainless steel.

• Which is stainless, both the nuts and the bolts, or just the
bolts?
• the modifier applies only to the noun that appears
nearest to the modifier

• In law: "the doctrine of the last antecedent.”

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 Multiple Conjunctions and, or

The flange shall be fastened by gluing and clamping or

riveting.
• could mean "gluing and clamping….. or riveting"
• or it could mean "gluing and clamping… or riveting”
• The burden of resolving the confusion of precedence is
placed on the writer, who must find a different way of
expressing the idea without ambiguity

• "The flange shall be fastened either by gluing and

clamping or by riveting.”
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Lists
• Take the time to think of everything you could possibly want

If you don't mention a thing explicitly in a list, then don't

expect to get it.

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 Totality

• Words like: "all," "always," "never," "every," and "none,”

may be creating a logical error.

• Avoid them

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Mariner 1 was lost due to a single misplaced hyphen in the

control system specification of the Atlas rocket. 52

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 Errors in Specification Language
There are three categories of grammatical errors.
1. Those that don't affect the intelligibility of the sentence.
= no one can argue about what the writer intended.
The result is no effect.
2. Those that make the sentence totally unintelligible.
Usually we're lucky and the contractor tells us about
them
Fix them with an ECP
3. Those that leave the sentence somewhat intelligible, but
change the meaning of the sentence to something different
from what was intended.
Eventually, the error will be discovered
Fixed by either an ECP or a modification.
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The result is cost growth. 53

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Dealing with an uncertainty

• TBD determined
• TBA advised
• TBC confirmed
• Place in a table in section 7, 8 or 9

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 Processing the Specification

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Processing the specification

• Write the specification
• Actually, develop it
• Watch out for adapting existing specifications
• Check
• Approve
• Manage
• Numbering; change control; filing
• Review

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 What was this all about?

A clear specification prevents miscommunication &

misunderstanding resulting in bad engineering.

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Validate

Verify

Test

Test

Requirements Test entities

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 Topics
1. Engineering
2. The Specification
3. Context & Contractual
4. Hierarchy
5. Requirements elicitation
6. Specification structure
7. Requirements verification
8. Contentious issues
Batmobile?
9. Specification language
10. Processing the specification
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The End

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 THANKS.

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