How to Prepare Your Requirements for a Software Development Quote

You do not need to write a technical specification before asking for a software quote. You do need to explain the work clearly enough that two developers can understand the same problem. A short brief with examples is often more useful than a long list of words such as CRM, dashboard and automation.

1. Begin with one clear objective

Describe the difficulty you want to address. For example, a hypothetical maintenance company might want its office team to assign requests and see which jobs remain open. That objective is clearer than asking for a complete management platform.

Explain the current process too. Existing tools may continue to serve useful purposes. A developer should understand what needs to change and what can remain.

2. Turn a vague requirement into an example

Instead of writing “we need reports”, try: “The supervisor needs to see open requests by assigned person, filter by due date and open the original request.” Add a sample with invented records. Include the exception: what should appear if nobody has been assigned?

That gives the developer a screen purpose, required information and a behaviour to test. Repeat this exercise for the three tasks that matter most. You can expand the brief during discovery; the initial goal is to remove the largest ambiguities.

3. Describe the users and their responsibilities

List the people who will use the system and what each role can do. A manager may approve changes while a coordinator assigns work and a technician records completion.

Include information that must remain private between teams, customers or branches. Access control is part of the requirement, not a finishing touch.

State approximate user numbers and how frequently the system will be used. These are planning inputs, not guarantees about infrastructure requirements.

4. Explain a task from start to finish

Choose a common task and write its steps in plain language. Identify the required information, decisions, notifications and final result.

Then describe exceptions. What happens if a request is incomplete? Can it be reassigned? Can someone correct an approved record? Who should see the correction?

These questions often reveal more development work than the normal process. You do not have to resolve every issue alone, but flagging them makes the discussion more productive.

5. Provide safe sample material

Share blank forms, sample reports or anonymised records that explain the structure. Remove personal, confidential and commercially sensitive information before sharing.

For a report, explain the decision it supports. “Open requests by assigned person” is a clearer requirement when you also say that a supervisor uses it to redistribute work each morning.

Do not assume a dashboard contains every report. Name the measures and filters that matter.

6. Separate first-release needs from later ideas

Group requirements into essential first-release features, useful additions and future possibilities. Avoid labelling everything essential.

A feature belongs in the first release when the core process cannot work properly without it. For example, recording a request and assigning responsibility may be essential, while a complex forecasting dashboard can wait.

This is how a focused custom application can be scoped without committing to an entire ERP immediately.

7. Identify integrations and delivery expectations

Name the systems that need to exchange information. If API documentation, vendor access or test accounts are available, mention them. If they are unknown, record that uncertainty rather than assuming integration is straightforward.

Also specify data migration, training and handover needs. Who supplies the initial data? Who approves the work? What is the target launch condition? A date alone does not define readiness.

8. A brief you can copy

• Business objective and current difficulty.
• Current process and existing tools.
• User roles and access restrictions.
• Essential tasks and exception handling.
• Sample fields, documents and required reports.
• First-release priorities and later ideas.
• Integrations and available access.
• Initial data, training and handover requirements.
• Approval contact and acceptance examples.

Use acceptance examples such as “a coordinator can assign a request, and the assigned person can see it without seeing another team’s restricted records.” They make completion easier to assess.

Frequently asked questions

Use the brief below as a starting point, then send your requirements to Auspian. Include what is unclear; that is useful discovery information too.