01 · Problem & users
- What work starts the process?
- Which users and roles take part?
- Which steps fail or are repeated?
- What exceptions do you handle?
Free planning worksheet
Your first software project brief
You do not need a technical specification to start. Prepare the operational facts that help you—and any vendor—decide whether buying, integrating or building makes sense.
02 · Data & systems
- Where is information kept today?
- Which systems must integrate?
- Who may view or change records?
- How will data be imported or exported?
03 · Constraints & rollout
- Which security and privacy rules apply?
- Is mobile/offline work essential?
- Who will test and own the system?
- What is the first usable release?
Define success in observable terms
Choose a baseline your team can actually measure: fewer corrections, less repeated data entry, quicker order confirmation, or fewer missing documents. Record the starting point before estimating improvement.
Avoid sharing sensitive data
Bring anonymized sample records and descriptions to the first discussion. Do not transmit personal medical records, passwords, access tokens or customer financial data through a marketing form.
Use this as a prompt sheet, not as a security assessment or contractual requirements document.