A specification is a detailed description of the requirements or procedures that are necessary to implement or carry out a specific task or process. It is a document that outlines the characteristics, parameters, and other important details of a product, service, or system in a clear and concise manner.

Specifications are an essential business tool that are used to implement strategy, manage operations, and ensure that products and services meet the required standards and expectations. They are used in a variety of contexts, including product development, manufacturing, construction, and engineering, and can be used to communicate the requirements and expectations of a project to stakeholders, suppliers, and contractors.

Specifications can be written in a variety of formats and levels of detail, depending on the complexity of the product, service, or system being described. They can include technical specifications, which outline the technical characteristics and requirements of a product or system, and performance specifications, which describe the expected performance or functionality of a product or system.

In addition to being used to communicate requirements and expectations, specifications can also be used to ensure that products and services are of high quality and meet the needs of customers and stakeholders. By defining clear and specific requirements, organizations can reduce the risk of errors, defects, and other quality issues, and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their operations. The following are common types of specification.

Requirement Specifications
Documentation of a business need. Business units may provide high level requirements such as user stories. These are refined with a process of business analysis to be detailed enough to be considered specifications. Requirement specifications provide everything required to design a product, service, tool, infrastructure component, process or procedure.

Design Specifications
Descriptions of how requirements will be realized. A design provides everything required to implement requirements.

Material Specifications
Specifications of physical, mechanical, electrical and chemical properties and tolerances. Included in the design of physical things such as products.

Standard Specifications
Descriptions of industry or internal standards.

Interface Specifications
Detailing how things will work together such as a software API for system integration.

Test Specifications
Describing how to test a product, service, process, infrastructure component, tool, machine or environment. This includes specifications for functional testing, non-functional testing, user acceptance testing and quality control.

Performance Specifications
Specifications of target operating characteristics such as the availability of a service.

Quality Specifications
Definitions of quality that are used for purposes such as design, testing and quality control. Quality can include both tangible elements such as the size of an apple and intangible elements such as its taste.

Quality objectives are specific, measurable targets that organizations set in order to improve the quality of their products or services. They are an important part of a quality management system, as they help organizations to identify and prioritize areas for improvement, and to track progress towards achieving those improvements.

There are several key elements of quality objectives, including:

1. Specificity: Quality objectives should be specific and clearly defined, in order to be measurable and achievable.
2. Measurability: Quality objectives should be quantifiable, so that progress can be tracked and measured.
3. Timeliness: Quality objectives should have a specific timeline for completion, so that progress can be tracked and resources can be allocated appropriately.
4. Relevance: Quality objectives should be relevant to the organization’s overall goals and objectives, and should address the needs and expectations of customers, stakeholders, and other key stakeholders.
5. Continual improvement: Quality objectives should be focused on continuous improvement, in order to drive long-term success and competitiveness.

Quality objectives are an important tool for organizations looking to improve the quality of their products and services, as they help to identify areas for improvement, set specific targets, and track progress towards achieving those targets. By setting and working towards clear quality objectives, organizations can improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their operations, and better meet the needs and expectations of their customers and stakeholders.

Conformance quality refers to the production of products and delivery of services that meet specified standards or requirements. It is often viewed from the perspective of operational teams, who focus on ensuring that products and services conform to specifications through processes such as quality control and quality assurance. On the other hand, marketing teams and customers may view quality in terms of how well products and services meet their needs and expectations.

Ensuring conformance quality is important for a variety of reasons. It helps to ensure that products and services are reliable and perform as intended, which can lead to customer satisfaction and loyalty. It can also help to prevent costly defects and errors that can impact the bottom line. By focusing on conformance quality, organizations can improve their efficiency and effectiveness, as well as their reputation and competitiveness in the market. The following are illustrative examples.

Manufacturing

A bicycle tire manufacturer tests every unit off a production line. When a problem is found, it is escalated to quality assurance teams who investigate and address the root cause of the nonconformance.

Telecom

A telecom company performs quality control with network testing tools that evaluate quality factors such as latency. When an issue it found it is escalated to incident management. Quality assurance teams follow up on incidents to address persistent problems.

Maintenance

A high speed train maintenance team performs quality control inspections of all work to confirm it complies with maintenance procedures.

Software

A software-as-a-service provider monitors services to ensure conformance to service level agreements. Violations of SLA are escalated to service management processes. The process of service management is monitored by a quality assurance team that looks at overall process improvements.