Designkriterium

Designkriterium (plural Designkriterien) is a term used in German-language design discourse to denote a criterion that a design must satisfy. It refers to a requirement, often measurable, used to assess and guide the design of products, systems, or services.

Purpose and role: Designkriterien translate user needs, constraints, and regulatory expectations into concrete evaluation standards. They enable objective comparison of design proposals, support traceability from requirements to the final product, and facilitate communication among stakeholders.

Types: Designkriterien can be functional, performance, usability, safety, quality, and sustainability criteria, as well as regulatory or standards-based criteria. They may also address manufacturability, maintenance, and cost targets.

Development: They are typically derived during requirements engineering, user research, and risk assessment, and are stated as measurable statements. Many teams apply SMART principles to improve clarity and verifiability.

Use in design processes: Criteria guide concept development, drive evaluation and selection of alternatives, and define testing and acceptance criteria for verification and validation.

Examples: For a consumer device, criteria might include battery life, thermal performance, weight, durability, and user accessibility; for a software system, criteria may include response time, reliability, security, and accessibility.

Relation to other concepts: Designkriterien intersect with constraints, user stories, and risk assessments. They provide a structured basis for design decisions, trade-off analysis, and documentation throughout a project lifecycle.