Design Specification Writing for Professionals Training

Learning Outcomes

• Interpret design briefs and identify key technical requirements for specification development.
• Apply relevant standards, codes, and regulatory requirements to design specifications.
• Produce clear, concise, and unambiguous design specifications using appropriate terminology and formats.
• Evaluate specifications for completeness, accuracy, and compliance with project objectives.
• Revise and update specifications based on stakeholder feedback and design changes.
• Demonstrate effective communication of technical information to diverse audiences.

Target Audience

This course is ideal for engineers, architects, project managers, technical writers, and other professionals involved in the design, procurement, or construction phases of projects who need to produce or review design specifications.

Prerequisites

None — open enrollment.

Course Outline

Practicals

Overview

The practicals allow learners to apply specification writing techniques to simulated real-world scenarios, including researching requirements, drafting specification clauses, using software tools, and conducting peer reviews. These hands-on sessions reinforce theoretical knowledge and build confidence in producing professional design specifications.

Practical Activities

• Practical 1: Research and Requirements Gathering — Learners work in teams to gather technical requirements from a project brief, drawings, and stakeholder interviews (simulated). They produce a requirements matrix and research log. (8h)
• Practical 2: Drafting Specification Clauses — Using the research from Practical 1, learners write clear specification clauses for materials, installation, and performance criteria, including cross-references to drawings and schedules. (8h)
• Practical 3: Software-Based Specification Development — Learners use specification management software (e.g., NBS) to create a master specification template, automate cross-referencing, and collaborate on a shared document. (8h)
• Practical 4: Peer Review and Finalisation — Learners conduct peer reviews using quality checklists, incorporate feedback, and finalise a specification package. They present their work and defend their decisions. (8h)

Summatives

Each delegate is assessed continuously throughout the course via daily exercises, scored practical assignments, and a final summative test at the end.

Practical Assignments — 30%

Practical assignments are observed and scored against a rubric during the practical sessions. Each delegate's practical mark is averaged into a single 100% score and contributes 30% to the final total.

Daily Exercises — 20%

Every training day ends with a multiple-choice exercise scored out of 100%. The scores from each daily exercise are averaged across the duration of the course to produce a Daily Average mark, which contributes 20% to the final total.

Final Test — 50%

On the last day a final summative test is written. It is a multiple-choice paper with multiple-answer questions: each question may have more than one correct option, and a single wrong selection on a question marks the entire question wrong — no partial credit. The final test is scored out of 100% and contributes 50% to the overall mark.

Final Total

Component	Out of	Weight
Practical Assignments (rubric-scored)	100%	30%
Daily Average (multiple choice)	100%	20%
Final Test (multi-answer multiple choice)	100%	50%
Final Total	—	100%

All marks are recorded on the AATICD LMS and visible to each learner under their account.

Certificate

How it works

• Certificates are auto-generated on the AATICD LMS as soon as the marks pass the 50% threshold.
• Each certificate is a branded PDF with the delegate's name, the course title, the unit standard ID, NQF level, credits, and the date of issue.
• You can download or print your certificate from your LMS dashboard at any time after issue — there's no reissue fee and no expiry date.
• If you scored under 50% you can sit the final test again at the next scheduled session at no extra cost.

Where to find it

Sign in to the LMS, open your dashboard, and your certificates appear under My Certificates. Each entry has a View / Download button and a print option.

Training Discounts

Group discounts apply automatically — the more delegates you enrol, the greater the saving. Discounts are calculated at 3% per 5 delegates, scaling up to 40% off for 100+ delegates.

Delegates	Discount
5	3% off
10	6% off
15	9% off
20	12% off
25	15% off
30	18% off
50	30% off
75	35% off
100	40% off

3% discount per 5 delegates, up to 40% off for 100+ delegates. Contact us for a custom group quote.