Product Requirements

Product Requirements

Product Requirements Jonathan Poland

Product requirements refer to the documented expectations and specifications that outline the desired characteristics and features of a product or service. These requirements serve as a guide for the development of new products and the improvement of existing ones, and are typically collected from various stakeholders such as business units, customers, operations, and subject matter experts. The following are examples of product requirements.

User Stories

Requirements that capture expectations for the product. Typically contributed by business units who own the product. Often phased as customer expectations. For example, “As a customer, I want the shirt to be free of tags that rub against the skin.”

Customer Requirements

Requirements contributed by a customer such as a lead user. For example, “I want to be able to choose from hundreds of bright colors.”

Business Rules

Business rules that define the operation of the product. Often stated as conditional statements such as “if ___ then ___.” For example, “If the user presses the power button then the device automatically saves work and shuts down without any further confirmations.”

Usability

Usability requirements that improve ease of use. For example, “this button works when users finger is slightly off target.”

Customer Experience

Requirements intended to improve the end-to-end customer experience such as “beeps and other feedback sounds are off by default.”

Brand

Brand related requirements such as a brand style guide that is to be used for packaging.

Functions

Specifications of goals that can be accomplished with the product. For example, “As a customer, I want to be able to effortlessly carry a bag of groceries with the bicycle.”

Features

Specifications of elements that achieve goals. For example, “the bicycle shall have a 9 liter basket securely mounted between the handle bars.”

Implementation Requirements

Placing constraints on how the product will be constructed. For example, “the basket will be constructed using recycled PET plastic.”

Performance

Performance targets for the product such as a figure of merit. For example, “the solar panels shall have a maximum conversion efficiency of at least 20%.”

Service Requirements

Requirements for services such as the requirement that a software service be available at least 99.99% of the time.

Technical Requirements

Requirements from subject matter experts such as an information security specialist or software architect.

Operations Requirements

Requirements from operations teams such as a requirement that the product be impossible to put together incorrectly.

Quality

Quality requirements in areas such as durability. For example, “the phone can be dropped from 1.5 meters height to a concrete surface 40 or more times without breaking.”

Risk

Risk related requirements such as a safety target for a bicycle. For example, “the bicycle’s brakes will have less than a 0.01% chance of failure for the first two years.”

Learn More
Persistence Jonathan Poland

Persistence

Persistence is the ability to maintain motivation and effort over a prolonged period of time. It is a behavior or…

Inherent Risk Jonathan Poland

Inherent Risk

Inherent risk is a term used in the field of auditing to describe the risk that a company’s financial statements…

Business Assets Jonathan Poland

Business Assets

In business, assets are useful property that are owned by the company. These assets can be divided into three categories:…

What is a Persona? Jonathan Poland

What is a Persona?

Personas are fictional characters that businesses use to represent and model the characteristics, goals, needs, behaviors, and emotions of their…

One Stop Shop Jonathan Poland

One Stop Shop

A one stop shop model is a business model in which a single company or organization offers a wide range…

Business Optimization Jonathan Poland

Business Optimization

Business optimization is the ongoing process of evaluating the efficiency, productivity, and performance of a business and identifying ways to…

Substitution Pricing Jonathan Poland

Substitution Pricing

A substitution price is the price at which a customer will choose to switch to a different product or service…

Practical Thinking Jonathan Poland

Practical Thinking

Practical thinking is a type of thinking that focuses on finding timely and reasonable solutions to problems. This type of…

Content Database

Search over 1,000 posts on topics across
business, finance, and capital markets.

Concentration Risk Jonathan Poland

Concentration Risk

Concentration risk refers to the risk that a specific investment or group of investments could pose a threat to the…

Process Efficiency Jonathan Poland

Process Efficiency

Process efficiency refers to the effectiveness of a process in achieving its intended outcomes, while minimizing waste and inefficiency. A…

Tactical Risk Jonathan Poland

Tactical Risk

Tactical risk refers to the potential for losses due to changes in business conditions in real-time. Tactics differ from strategy…

Risk 101 Jonathan Poland

Risk 101

Risk evaluation is a crucial component of the risk management process. It involves assessing the potential impact and likelihood of…

What is a Trade Show? Jonathan Poland

What is a Trade Show?

A trade show is an industry-specific event where businesses in a particular sector showcase their products, services, and innovations to…

ERG Theory Jonathan Poland

ERG Theory

ERG theory is a motivational theory that was developed by Clayton Alderfer. It is an extension of Maslow’s hierarchy of…

Pricing 101 Jonathan Poland

Pricing 101

Pricing refers to the process of determining the value that a business will receive in exchange for its products or…

Captive Market Jonathan Poland

Captive Market

A captive market is a market where a group of customers is forced to buy from a limited number of…

Feedback Loop Jonathan Poland

Feedback Loop

A feedback loop is a process in which the output of a system is used as input to adjust the…