Download this free template for a simple yet effective way to document your key software requirements. It has been developed and proven in our software selection experience, and is highly regarded by vendors for its ability to help buyers engage more effectively with them in the demonstration and evaluation process. Completing this template offers benefits for both you and vendors. Firstly, it helps you ensure all members of your selection team are ‘on the same page’ about the requirements for the new system, and makes it less like that you’ll overlook an important issue. And vendors like dealing with buyers who know what they want - it saves them pre-sales time in clarifying your needs, and allows them to quickly focus in on your key requirements for demonstration purposes. This download includes a two page template, plus detailed instructions (& examples) on what to include in each field of the template.

1. How to Use the Requirements Summary
The following template is designed to help you define your key software requirements in a way that
makes it easy for vendors and service providers to respond effectively to your enquiry. It is not
intended as a formal Request for Information (RFI) process – we developed it in our consulting work
as a simple and pragmatic way to summarize your needs and engage with relevant vendors.
To fill in this template, we suggest that you assemble a small team of people from different parts of
the organization who will be affected by the new system, and discuss each of the sections in this
requirements summary. Revise the draft until you are satisfied that it represents a shared view of
your organization’s software requirements. You may also find it helpful to refer to the
Requirements Gathering Template from Software Shortlist, which poses a series of questions to help
organizations explore & clarify their needs before summarizing them in this Requirements Summary
template.
Note: Permission is granted for you to edit and apply this template in helping your own organization
select software, but any commercial use or distribution to a broader audience requires the express
approval of Software Shortlist. Contact us at info@softwareshortlist.com if you’d like to discuss this.
BUSINESS NEED
Describe what it is that the business needs to achieve that has triggered your software search. Focus
on the business benefits to deliver or challenges/problems to solve.
For example:
• “We need to better coordinate our sales efforts and get a single integrated view of our
prospects. This should reduce rework and overlapping efforts across our team of 8 sales
people, improve our customer conversion rate, and reduce the average time to sale “
ENVISAGED SOLUTION
Describe the software solution and how it would work. Is there a well-known category it fits into?
(e.g. accounting, LMS, ERP, CRM, timesheet, invoicing). If not, explain it as best you can.
For example:
• “A CRM system with a focus on managing the sales pipeline”
‘MUST HAVE’ REQUIREMENTS
List here any features or capabilities that are essential (not just ‘nice to have’). In other words, if a
system doesn’t have these ‘must have’ capabilities, it will not be considered as a valid option. Try to
keep this to a list of no more than 5 to 8 requirements.
For example:
• “Web access for users in different offices/geographies”
• “Audit log of changes made”
• “Integrate with a particular accounting system”
• “Ability to export reports as CSV files”
Software Requirements Summary Template
© 2011 Software Shortlist Pty Ltd (www.softwareshortlist.com)

2. TOP 3 PRIORITIES
Consider the various characteristics of software in the list below, and identify the three that are
most important to you. These are not really “features” like the must-have requirements above, but
instead are less tangible ‘benefits’ or ‘characteristics’ that are nonetheless critical to project success.
Identify the 3 characteristics that are most important, and explain why and/or what you mean:
• Easy to Use • Can Grow with Your Business
• Low Cost • Large, Well Known Vendor
• Powerful Reporting • Good Feedback from Others
• Well Supported • Knows Your Industry Well
• Flexible to Customise • Integrates With Other Software
OTHER FACTORS TO CONSIDER
This is your place to list other things that matter significantly but didn’t get a good mention in the
sections above. Provide additional context and information where relevant, but try to keep it
succinct and focused.
For example:
• Explain any factors impacting on the timeline of the software project
• Outline the decision process at a high level so that vendors know what to expect
• Do you have other software needs that might be related or solved at the same time?
• Detail any relevant constraints (budgetary, resourcing, timing, etc)
• Describe current workaround and/or options under consideration
SCENARIOS TO TEST
Explain the scenarios that you will be most interested during a demonstration, whether on your own
if they offer a demo account, or as part of the pre-sales process with vendors. These should address
major ‘use cases’ – i.e. the critical processes that users of the system will have to perform, and for
which a demonstration will provide useful insights into the functionality & usability of the system.
For example:
• Add a new client manually, register a new opportunity, note that a phone call was made
and add notes about it, set a reminder to follow up in 2 months.
• Import existing data from CSV format, run a report to identify ones with incomplete
data, use bulk-edit capability to fix common problems.
KEY INTERACTIONS
Explain how the various user groups and elements of the system will interact, including any
integration with external data or systems. Often a diagram is very helpful here.
For example, show how data is entered by sales staff via a webform or mobile phone app,
and flows into a database from where the marketing manager runs a standard set of reports
and the finance manager can perform ad-hoc reporting for financial projection purposes.
The client database is then exported to CSV and used for a monthly client e-newsletter.
Software Requirements Summary Template
© 2011 Software Shortlist Pty Ltd (www.softwareshortlist.com)

3. SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS SUMMARY
Organization: Department:
Key Contact: Last Updated:
Business Need Envisaged Solution
“Must Have” Requirements Budget Timing
•
• Hosted vs Installed?
•
Number of Users
Top 3 Priorities
1.
2.
3.
Other Factors to Consider
•
Software Requirements Summary Template
© 2011 Software Shortlist Pty Ltd (www.softwareshortlist.com)

4. Scenarios to Test During the Software Review
Key Interactions
Software Requirements Summary Template
© 2011 Software Shortlist Pty Ltd (www.softwareshortlist.com)