Writing product specifications is essentially writing part of a contract. Writing contracts is generally something that attorneys do; however, in the construction industry, contract documents include documents prepared by professional architects and engineers. The specifications, like the drawings, become part of the contract documents that become part of the agreement between a building owner/developer and the contractor(s).
Multiple methods have become traditional within the building industry. The Construction Specifications Institute's (CSI) Project Resource Manual (PRM) is a good resource to use to learn more about the methods of specifying that are covered in this article. Additional information on this subject awaits in the CSI-PRM, which can be ordered from the CSI website at www.csinet.org.