Committees responsible for this British Standard

The preparation of this British Standard was entrusted to Technical Committee MS/4, Design management systems, upon which the following bodies were represented:

Association of Consulting Engineers

Association of Project Managers

BEAMA Ltd.

British Standards Society

Chartered Society of Designers

Defence Manufacturers' Association

Department of Trade and Industry

Design Council

Electricity Association

Federation of Small Businesses

GAMBICA (BEAMA Ltd.)

Health and Safety Executive

Institute of Civil Engineers

Institute of Electrical Engineers

Institute of Engineering Designers

Institute of Mechanical Engineers

Ministry of Defence

Royal Institute of British Architects

University of Glasgow

University of Leeds

Co-opted members

This British Standard, having been prepared under the direction of the Management Systems Sector Policy and Strategy Committee, was published under the authority of the Standards Board and comes into effect on 15 August 1998

First published as BS 7373 February 1991

Second edition August 1998

Renumbered by amendment as BS 7373‑1 July 2001

The following BSI references relate to the work on this standard: Committee reference MS/4

Draft for comment 97/402934 DC

Foreword

The preparation of this British Standard was entrusted to Technical Committee MS/4. It supersedes BS 7373:1991, which is withdrawn.

The 1991 edition of this standard was developed from PD 6112:1967, which gave guidance mainly on the preparation of manufacturing specifications. The 1998 edition has a greatly expanded scope, covering the preparation of specifications across all sectors of industry, commerce and the public sector. It applies to all technical, services, software, production and design areas, and also recognizes the importance of intellectual and other rights.

A British Standard does not purport to include all the necessary provisions of a contract. Users of British Standards are responsible for their correct application.

Compliance with a British standard does not of itself confer immunity from legal obligations

Summary of pages

This document comprises a front cover, an inside front cover, pages i and ii, pages 1 to 16, an inside back cover and a back cover.

The BSI copyright notice displayed in this document indicates when the document was last issued.

Introduction

The object of this British Standard is to provide guidance on the content, layout, preparation and management of all types of specification.

Specifications are routinely used throughout the manufacturing, construction, process and service industries, commerce and in the public sector to enable the implementation of products that satisfy an expressed need. The requirements are usually technical, commercial and legal and are applicable to products, processes and services.

Use of the word ªproductº throughout this standard applies to service, hardware, processed material and software deliverables, or any combination thereof.

This standard is equally applicable to the specification of a domestic refuse collection system as it is to a store layout, a power station, a can of soup, a file of machine code or a wheel nut.

The concepts and attributes of the product being specified, together with any constraints, need to be set out to the appropriate degree of detail. This should enable the development, assessment, implementation, operation, maintenance and ultimate disposal of the product. Similar guidance may be needed in the drafting of user manuals, instruction books, or leaflets associated with products.

These purposes are best achieved within the framework of a logical layout set out in an orderly fashion.

Associated with the generation of specifications are overall management considerations, including rights to data, intellectual property, liability to prospective users and legislative consequences including health and safety and the environment. Management duties continue after publication of a specification and may even persist after its withdrawal. These duties may involve change management, product development and the handling of disputes. Specifications are an integral part of some standards and of contracts, and the level of precision finally used should correspond with these requirements.

1 Scope

This British Standard gives guidance on the layout and preparation of specifications, and describes systems for their management. It applies to specifications used within industry, commerce and the public sector.

The guidance is applicable to the specification of all types of product.

2 Terms and definitions

3 Types of specification

3.1 General

3.2 Triggers

3.3 Requirements

3.4 Processes

3.5 Other types of specification

4 Presentation

4.1 General

4.2 Level of detail

4.3 Structure

4.4 Text

5 Content and preparation

5.1 General

5.2 Identification

5.3 Circulation

5.4 Contents

5.5 Foreword

5.6 Introduction

5.7 Scope

5.8 References

5.9 Body of the specification

5.10 Annexes

5.11 Index

5.12 Bibliography

6 Management of specifications

6.1 General

6.2 Policy

6.3 Security

6.4 Management of specifications during preparation

6.5 Management of issued specifications

Bibliography

BS 7373-1:2001

Guide to the preparation of specifications - Guide to preparation

Current

Published:

15 Aug 1998