Before a single line of code is written, every successful software project starts with one critical foundation: documentation. At its core, documentation is a structured collection of information that explains what needs to be built, why it's needed, and how it should function. For small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), where resources are often limited and timelines are tight, getting this part right can mean the difference between a smooth launch and costly rework down the road.
In this guide, we’ll walk through a practical, experience-based approach to gathering requirements for the software project, specifically tailored to the needs of SMBs. Our focus is on creating documentation that provides real value without becoming a time-consuming burden. Based on what we, as software development service providers, wish we received from clients, we’ll share a balanced strategy that helps you communicate your vision clearly while staying efficient and flexible.
Of course, the templates we suggest, which are available for download below in the article, and the methods may vary depending on your specific project and circumstances, but this guide will give you a solid starting point and clear direction.
Why is collecting requirements important?
Skipping the proper collection of requirements is one of the most common and costly mistakes in software development. Without well-defined documentation, even the best software development teams can end up building the wrong product. Misunderstandings, scope creep, unrealistic expectations, and missed deadlines are just a few of the problems that arise when requirements for software project are vague or missing altogether.
The consequences are real, projects may need to be restarted, timelines stretch far beyond what was planned, and budgets spiral out of control. Worst of all, the final product may not meet user or business needs, rendering months of work ineffective.
The solution is straightforward but critical, compile the right documentation at the right time. Requirements documentation comes in many forms, ranging from high-level summaries to extremely detailed specifications. Choosing the right type and developing it to the appropriate level of detail depends on the stage of the project and its complexity.
When requirements are clearly documented, teams stay aligned, stakeholders have confidence, and developers can build efficiently with fewer delays. Good documentation reduces the risk of rework, keeps the project on track, and speeds up delivery.
We know from experience how difficult it can be to create comprehensive documentation. Often, there’s simply not enough time. That’s why we’ve written this article to help you save time and focus on what matters most.
We’ll cover the three most essential types of documentation that we use in our own practice:
Project brief (PB). A concise document outlining high-level business requirements and project constraints. Ideal for quickly filtering suitable software development partners.
Business requirements document (BRD). A more detailed description of business goals and key functionality, often used in the final stage of vendor selection and for early estimates and proposals.
Software requirements specification (SRS). The most detailed document, including all product functional requirements, mockups, and non-functional requirements. Though less common today due to agile practices, it remains valuable for precise planning and software development.
In our work, we recommend an agile approach: begin with a solid BRD and clear wireframes/mockups. This allows fast project kickoff, aligns expectations early, and ensures that detailed specifications (SRS) can evolve naturally as software development progresses. It’s a balance between speed and clarity, and it works.
Main steps in gathering requirements
The steps for gathering requirements may vary depending on the type of document and the nature of the project. However, some core practices are essential regardless of context. In this section, we assume that the main goal of your software project is already defined, and that you are the person responsible for leading the creation of the requirements document.
Here are the key steps:
Step 1: Identify stakeholders
Begin by identifying all the relevant stakeholders. These include individuals who are affected by or have influence over the project. Stakeholders may come from within your team, such as developers, designers, or project managers, or outside it, like clients, end-users, or partners. For example, in a last-mile delivery development, stakeholders would not only include product managers and engineers but also couriers or drivers, those who will actually use the system day-to-day.
The stakeholder list can and should vary depending on the type of software and the document you're preparing.
Step 2: Survey all stakeholders
Once stakeholders are identified, prepare a targeted set of questions to uncover their needs, expectations, and frustrations. A critical question to include is: What daily problems do you face that this software could solve? The goal here is to gather honest insights that will form the foundation of your requirements.
You can conduct this research via written surveys, individual interviews, or joint brainstorming sessions. In the early stages, even if you're the only stakeholder, try to involve others as soon as possible, you'll be surprised at how different perspectives can reshape your understanding. Whatever the format, make sure to document everything carefully. Verbal discussions are valuable, but without notes, insights can easily be lost.
We’ve included a downloadable questionnaire template in the document package below to help you get started.
Step 3: Write the requirements document
With the raw input collected, it’s time to transform it into a structured requirements document. This involves organizing and synthesizing responses, identifying common themes, and highlighting specific needs. Tools like ChatGPT can be incredibly useful here, for example, to compile multiple stakeholder responses into a coherent narrative or to suggest areas you might have overlooked. Keep the document clear, focused, and categorized (e.g., functional requirements vs. non-functional requirements), and always align it with the project’s main goal.
You’ll find a document template ready for use in the resources below.
Step 4: Review and approve
Before finalizing the document, circulate it for feedback. It’s important that key individuals, especially those from the technical team, review it to confirm feasibility and catch any potential oversights, such as system limitations or integration needs.
PRO TIP: Always involve the end-users, even if they are considered low-level staff. We’ve seen many projects where software decisions were made solely by upper-level requirements management, resulting in tools that were hard to adopt and required major changes post-launch. Engaging all relevant users early ensures a smoother implementation details and better results.
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Explore moreHow to collect a project brief (PB)
The first step in gathering software requirements documents is turning vague ideas into concrete words. A project brief captures the core idea of the project and helps you begin identifying suitable software development partners. It’s not meant to be overly technical, just clear, concise, and practical.
Here’s how to create one effectively:
Identify stakeholders
Start by identifying the key stakeholders who understand the project from different angles. These are usually business owners, product managers, or department heads, often several people contribute independently. In small or mid-sized businesses (SMBs), this might just be a technical lead. Involve more people if you can, as multiple perspectives reduce blind spots and increase clarity.
Use a structured questionnaire
To make the process smoother and more consistent, send stakeholders a project brief questionnaire template.
Before sending and filling out:
Fill in the yellow fields yourself to give some background and guidance.
Make it clear that not all sections need to be filled, only the ones they feel informed about.
Always ask them to describe the problems they want solved – this is the most critical input.
This can be done entirely offline, and responses can be merged later.
Structure the final project brief
Once you collect responses, consolidate them into a clean and organized document. Your project brief should include:
Project details. Basic context and organizational info.
Project summary. What the project is about in 2–3 sentences.
Project problems. The key pain points or challenges you're solving.
Project solution. Your vision for how the software should help.
Project constraints. Budget, timeline, technology preferences, or compliance external factors.
Additional comments. All that is worth noting.
Prepare for outreach
Once the project brief becomes a complete picture, review it yourself or have a colleague double-check for clarity and completeness. Then, use it to start your search for a software development partner. You don’t have to send the full document to every candidate. If needed, remove sensitive information or ask ChatGPT to help you summarize it into a brief outreach message.
A well-prepared project brief will not only help your internal team align around the goals, but it will also help potential software development partners quickly understand your needs and provide more relevant proposals.
✅ Download requirement templates here
How to collect a business requirements document (BRD)
The business requirements document (BRD) is a cornerstone of any successful software project. Its main objective is to clearly define the business needs and goals that the solution must fulfill. This document is essential for high-level scoping and preliminary assessments, serving as a shared reference point for both business and technical teams.
Involve the right people
While a BRD is typically drafted by the client’s business and project managers, it should never be created in isolation. It goes deeper than a standard project brief and benefits greatly from input at all levels of the organization. In fact, involving end users such as customers, frontline staff, or even suppliers can uncover practical insights about real-world use cases and expectations. Their perspectives help shape a solution that is not only functional requirements but also usable and impactful.
Facilitate a stakeholder brainstorm
To gather diverse viewpoints:
Organize a stakeholder meeting or call where you explain the purpose and vision of the project.
Use the session as a brainstorming opportunity, capturing all feedback, suggestions, and concerns.
Immediately after, distribute a structured questionnaire that includes pre-filled yellow fields, your initial technical assumptions, or gaps. Ask stakeholders to complete it within a few days. Often, the most valuable feedback comes after they've had time to reflect.
Compile the document
Once you've gathered your input, it's time to build the BRD. This document may revisit and expand upon ideas introduced in the project brief. Be thorough. The more comprehensive your BRD, the smoother the software development process will be.
A standard BRD typically includes the following sections: general information, project description, business requirements, project scope, non-functional requirements, current process, future process, constraints, references, glossary, and additional comments.
Peer review and early validation
Before finalizing the BRD:
Share it with a few trusted colleagues, ideally one with a business focus and another with technical expertise.
Ask them for candid feedback. Are any critical areas missing? Does it align with organizational priorities and technical feasibility?
Use their insights to refine the document and, crucially, to identify a shortlist of potential development partners.
Don’t hesitate to share the draft BRD with these partners and ask for a high-level estimate or proposed solution outline. The more detailed your document, the more accurate and useful their responses will be.
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Explore moreHow to collect software requirements specification (SRS)
Once the business requirements are defined, the next critical step is to collect the software requirements specification (SRS). While the overall approach to gathering these technical requirements tends to follow a similar structure across projects, it's important to understand that this phase is both labor-intensive and time-consuming. It should be handled by specially trained professionals to ensure accuracy and completeness.
Typically, the SRS document is developed by the technical team based on the foundational business requirements. It often involves close collaboration between various stakeholders such as project managers, business analysts, software system analysts, technical leads, architects, and UI/UX designers. Their combined insights are essential to translating business needs into actionable, detailed technical documentation.
We don't usually rely on a rigid SRS document template, as we rarely finalize this documentation in its entirety before the project begins. Instead, we’ve found that a more dynamic and iterative method is far more effective. Our preferred approach includes Clickable mockups in Figma coupled with user stories in project management tools, an efficient way to communicate and evolve requirements throughout development.
The process of collecting SRS generally includes:
Technical team meetings and workshops
Use case modeling and scenario analysis
Prototyping and interactive mockups
Collaborative sessions between developers and product owners
User stories that evolve through backlog grooming and sprint planning
The main purpose of the software requirement specification document is to define how the software system should function from a technical standpoint. It covers both functional requirements and non-functional requirements, serving as a blueprint for developers, QA teams, designers, and software system architects.
A well-structured SRS typically includes:
Functional requirements define specifications and software system behavior
Data flow and information architecture
UI/UX specifications, often represented through mockups
API definitions and integrations
Performance expectations and software system scalability
Security considerations
Error handling and edge case behavior
Ultimately, the software requirement specification document is used for designing and building the actual software system, planning development activities, and preparing thorough test cases. By investing the right time and expertise in this stage, you lay a solid foundation for delivering a successful software product.
Final takeaway
Collecting requirements is not just the first step in a software application project, it's one of the most critical. Clear, timely, and well-organized documentation forms the backbone of every successful outcome. Without it, teams risk misalignment, scope creep, and costly rework. With it, you build clarity, confidence, and a shared vision from day one.
Whether you're just getting started or refining your current process, remember that the right documentation at the right time is the key components to successful projects. If you need support defining, documenting, or managing your writing software requirements, we're here to help every step of the way.
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