To expound on that just a touch, and as a 'for instance'....Windows 10 as an OS and bundle of programs will ONLY install on systems that are compatible with it through traditional method. That is to say that IF your CPU couldn't handle the suite of products that is offered as that OS it will block or disallow installation.
For the most part with other programs if they don't meet minimum requirements they either won't install (much like above) or will crash on load. In some cases they could throw errors or just run really poorly.