specs

Specs is short for specifications, and it refers to the documented requirements, features, performance metrics, interfaces, and constraints that a product, system, or service must satisfy. Specs serve as a common reference for designers, engineers, manufacturers, regulators, and customers to understand what is being built and how it should behave.

There are several broad types of specs. Functional specifications describe what a product should do, including user interactions and expected behavior. Technical specifications enumerate measurable attributes such as dimensions, performance, power consumption, bandwidth, or compatibility with other components. Design specifications cover aesthetics, ergonomics, and usability, while regulatory or compliance specs ensure adherence to safety, environmental, or industry rules. In practice, many projects maintain a combination of these to guide development, testing, and verification.

In technology and consumer electronics, specs commonly include hardware components (processor, memory, storage, graphics, ports, weight), software compatibility (supported operating systems, APIs, file formats), and performance figures (speeds, throughput, latency). For software, specs may outline platform support, interfaces, versioning, security requirements, and localization. Specs help buyers compare products, assist procurement, and support interoperability and benchmarking.

The term also appears in eyewear: in everyday speech, “specs” refers to spectacles or glasses. In that sense, specs describe frames, lens type, prescription, coatings, and materials.

Spec documents range from informal internal notes to formal, standards-based documents. Open or widely adopted specs, often developed by standards organizations or industry groups, facilitate interoperability and consistent quality across vendors and products.