In order to create a basis for the development of appropriate requirements the European Commission mandates preparatory studies for every appointed product group.

These studies have to follow a common structure and methodology elaborated and described in the methodology report. In 2011, the European Commission had implemented a study for the Update of the Methodology for the Ecodesign of Energy-using Products (MEEuP) with the aim to provide an update and an extension of the existing methodology of MEEuP to arrive at a Methodology for the Ecodesign of Energy-related Products (MEErP), to be used in future preparatory studies.

Such a study is subdivided into eight tasks. See the picture (click to enlarge) beneath for an explanation what each task is about.