How to prepare the requirements for a software project

What clear requirements are and what they should

Achieve Preparing the requirements for a software project means defining what the company needs the system to do, the conditions under which it must operate, and how to verify whether it meets the specified needs. This requires understanding the processes and problems the company wants to address before selecting features. The clearer these needs are, the easier it becomes for developers, users, and decision-makers to interpret the project consistently and compare the proposals received.

As we discussed in our previous article on custom software development, defining requirements is an important step before development begins. But how do you turn a general need, such as "managing requests more efficiently", into a concrete description of what the system is expected to deliver? This distinction is what makes it possible to assess whether a solution genuinely meets the company's needs.

Start with the problem

It is common to begin a project with a list of features, even when the problem to be solved has not yet been fully defined. Asking for "an app for technicians" says little about what is going wrong. Explaining that service requests get lost between departments, that some customers have to call twice to check their status, and that nobody knows exactly how many requests are still unresolved provides a clearer picture of the problem and gives developers the freedom to propose the most appropriate solution.

Before defining what the software should do, it is important to understand how the current process works. Where do delays occur? What information gets lost? Who is affected, and how often? It is also worth considering less common situations, such as an urgent request, a customer with special arrangements, or an incomplete document. These are often the cases that reveal needs that were not initially considered.

From a need to a requirement: an example

Imagine a technical service company that identifies a need: to have better control over service requests. As it stands, this is an objective, and different proposals could address it in very different ways. By turning this need into requirements, the company can specify, for example, that each request must have a status and an assigned person, that technicians must be able to record work on their mobile phones even without an internet connection, and that customers must receive a notification whenever the status of their request changes. Information recorded offline must be synchronised as soon as the connection is restored.

It is equally important to define how to verify whether each requirement has been met. For example, if every request must have an assigned person, the system could be required to prevent a new request from being fully registered until someone has been assigned to it. This is a specific behaviour that can be tested before the solution is accepted. If the requirements remain as vague as "managing requests efficiently", three companies could submit three proposals with very different scopes and costs, and the differences might only become apparent after the project has started.

What types of requirements should be covered?

Beyond describing what the system does, requirements should specify what data it handles and which other systems it needs to communicate with. If the new software will receive information from the CRM or send it to the invoicing system, it is useful to define what data will be exchanged, in which direction, and how frequently, as we explained in our article on how to choose the right approach to integrating business systems.

Other operating conditions must also be defined. Will the software be used only in the office or also in the field? Does it need to work on mobile devices? Who can view or modify specific information? These decisions influence how the solution is developed.

Performance and service continuity must also be considered, particularly when the system supports essential processes. The documentation needed to maintain and further develop the solution should be considered at this stage, as discussed in our article on what should be documented in a technology project.

Project priorities and scope

Not all requirements are equally important. Distinguishing what is essential for a process to function from what is desirable helps establish priorities and determine what should be developed first.

It is equally important to identify what falls outside the project scope. Otherwise, a feature the company assumed was included might not be covered by the proposal, leading to additional costs, delays, or changes during development.

Who should be involved in preparing the requirements?

Requirements should not be defined solely by management or the technical team. People who use the process every day are familiar with difficulties and exceptions that decision-makers may overlook. Business managers, on the other hand, help establish priorities, while the technical team identifies limitations and integration needs involving existing systems. Before requesting proposals, it is useful to go through a few real-life scenarios with these stakeholders and confirm that the requirements accurately describe what happens in each case.

How InovaDigital can help InovaDigital

InovaDigital develops custom software and system integration solutions to address specific business needs. When requirements are clearly defined, it becomes easier to identify the necessary features, understand how they should communicate with existing systems, and determine which solutions make sense for the company's operations.

Where to start when writing software requirements

To get started, choose one of the processes you want to improve and describe the current problem, who is affected, and the result you want to achieve. From there, identify what the software will need to do to address that need and how you can verify that it works as intended.

Carrying out this exercise with people who know and use the process helps turn expectations into concrete requirements. It also provides a better basis for requesting proposals, reduces the risk of differing interpretations, and establishes a more transparent foundation for development.