What does a product requirement matrix really do? Rather than having many clauses or specifications, drawings, test methods and corporate standards or internal requirements, the product requirement matrix becomes one view of all the controlled review items. Instead of having many documents and needing to search for multiple documents if an question comes up, you capture what the requirement is, where the source document is, the verification requirement and if the review is complete. The document matrix does not replace these other documents, but helps you to understand how they link together.
Create an example product matrix for a common product. This should help to illustrate it further for a complex or technical requirement. You will likely need to have separate column areas for the source document, clause number, product characteristic, requirement wording, verification method, objective evidence, responsible person and review status. The best way to use a product requirement matrix is in a spreadsheet file because the rows can be filtered and the data can be updated as changes are made, without needing to edit the standard or specification that is used as the source.
In general, the requirement wording will need to be sufficiently specific for another person to know what you are reviewing. You would never enter just “dimensions,” for instance, or “label is correct”. Instead, the dimension should be shown, along with the nominal value and tolerance. Or the item to be labelled is required as well as the acceptance criteria of the label itself. The source wording should be included, but you may wish to include additional plain-language text to provide some understanding if the clause is more technical in nature. This needs to be clear about what is being reviewed and it must not change the requirement, just describe it in plain language terms, while ensuring that the measurable condition is still intact.
Evidence should be listed with each requirement, instead of just saying that it passes and that it complies. The dimensional requirement should have some objective data such as the inspection record, or the technical drawing showing the measurements. The material requirements could have a link to the relevant material specification, the supplier declaration, etc. The label requirements could be an approved art file and the checklist of the approval form that has been filled out. Test reports should be linked to whatever data is being measured in that test report, and it cannot assume that other related requirements were also evaluated in the test report itself.
The review status could have options like pass or fail. If it is determined that the item is not relevant for this product, you may include a “not applicable” option. Another status you may wish to include is “needs review” when the referenced standard is not available, the acceptance limit is not clear or regulatory or specialist review is required. A pass status should include evidence or a reference to the evidence that was reviewed. A “not applicable” option should include reasoning for why it is not applicable (i.e. not relevant for the scope of this product, the type of product it is, the materials being used, intended use, etc.). If a review is required, you may wish to note that, and provide a link or other contact to complete that review. Rather than just having everything in a “completed review” status without any evidence, there should be visible indication that there is still some review required or the status can’t be confirmed.
The matrix should be validated by a second party before it is applied to decisions on a particular product. Select three rows in the matrix and open the source and the clause referenced there. Review the requirements in the matrix, and compare those to the original source. Open the evidence that is referenced and verify the results from that evidence. You should be able to follow that chain without guessing and should not be questioning whether it’s correct, because you’ve just double-checked those three lines. You will likely need to record the document revision and review date so that you can trace any changes in future that do not require you to redo the whole matrix file.