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Requirements document
Creating thorough requirements documentation helps your team align on what you need your new purchase to do. The Requirements Document Template in Kowalah guides you through a structured, collaborative process to create comprehensive documentation that helps align your buying team.

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Why Requirements Documents Matter

In an AI technology buying process, clear requirements documentation is essential because:
  • It creates alignment among diverse stakeholders with varying levels of AI knowledge
  • It reduces risk of selecting incompatible or insufficient solutions
  • It accelerates vendor evaluation by establishing clear criteria
  • It prevents scope creep by explicitly defining boundaries
  • It provides a benchmark for success after implementation
Poor requirements documentation is a primary cause of failed technology projects, with studies showing that over 70% of technology implementation failures can be traced back to incomplete or ambiguous requirements.

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Template Structure

The Requirements Document Template guides you through collecting and organizing information in a systematic way:

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1. Project Details

  • Project name and owner
  • Executive summary
  • Timeline and key milestones

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2. Project Description

  • Purpose and objectives
  • Current situation assessment
  • Key challenges driving the need for change

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3. Project Scope

  • In-scope capabilities and outcomes
  • Explicit out-of-scope items
  • Key constraints (budget, timeline, resources)

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4. Business Drivers

  • Quantifiable business outcomes (revenue growth, cost reduction)
  • Improved customer/employee experience metrics
  • Risk mitigation goals

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5. Current Process

  • Analysis of existing workflows and systems
  • Pain points and limitations
  • Stakeholder perspectives

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6. Future Process

  • Vision for transformed workflows
  • Expected changes to roles and responsibilities
  • Technology integration expectations

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7. Functional Requirements

Each functional requirement includes:
  • Unique identifier
  • Detailed description
  • Priority classification (Must/Should/Could Have)
  • Requirement owner
  • Impacted teams

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8. Non-Functional Requirements

Categories include:
  • Security (authentication, encryption, access controls)
  • Performance (response times, scalability, throughput)
  • Usability (accessibility, user interface standards)
  • Compliance (regulatory requirements, certifications)
  • Integration (API requirements, data exchange formats)

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9. Glossary

  • Definitions of technical and business terms
  • Clarification of ambiguous terminology
  • References to industry standards

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10. References

  • Links to supporting documentation
  • Sources used to develop requirements
  • Related project materials

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AI-Specific Requirements Considerations

For AI procurement specifically, the template guides you through key considerations:

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Data Requirements

  • Data quality, quantity, and diversity needs
  • Training/testing data availability
  • Privacy and compliance constraints

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Model Capabilities

  • Accuracy and performance expectations
  • Transparency and explainability needs
  • Handling edge cases and uncertainty

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Integration Requirements

  • API specifications and data formats
  • Latency and throughput considerations
  • Authentication and security protocols

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Governance Requirements

  • Monitoring and audit capabilities
  • Bias detection and mitigation
  • Model retraining procedures

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How to Use the Template

  1. Head to your dashboard in Kowalah and select “Build me a Requirements Document” from the tasks
  2. Answer guided questions about your situation and needs
  3. Add team members within a project to collaborate on specific sections
  4. Upload existing documents for context and reference
  5. Review and refine the document with stakeholders
  6. Export to preferred format (Word, Excel, PDF) for sharing
Throughout the process, Kowalah provides:
  • Contextual guidance on best practices
  • Examples from similar organizations
  • Explanations of why each section matters
  • Structured formats that ensure completeness

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Example: AI Requirements Document

Here’s an abbreviated example of how a requirements document might look for a company implementing a generative AI solution for customer service: 
PROJECT DETAILS
Name: Customer Service AI Assistant
Owner: Sarah Johnson, Director of Customer Experience
Executive Summary: Implementation of an AI-powered assistant to augment our customer service team, reducing response times and improving satisfaction scores.

BUSINESS DRIVERS
1. Reduce average response time from 4 hours to under 15 minutes (85% improvement)
2. Increase customer satisfaction scores from 7.2/10 to 8.5/10
3. Improve agent productivity by 30% by handling routine inquiries automatically
4. Reduce training time for new agents by 50%

FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENTS (Sample)
ID: FR-001
Description: The AI assistant must be able to answer questions about order status, returns, and product information without human intervention.
Priority: Must Have
Owner: Customer Experience Team
Impacted Teams: Customer Service, IT, Product

ID: FR-002
Description: System must support human handoff when confidence level drops below configurable threshold.
Priority: Must Have
Owner: Operations Team
Impacted Teams: Customer Service, IT

NON-FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENTS (Sample)
Type: Security
Requirement: All customer data must be encrypted in transit and at rest, with no persistent storage of PII in the AI system.

Type: Performance
Requirement: AI responses must be generated within 3 seconds for 95% of inquiries.

Type: Compliance
Requirement: Solution must be compliant with GDPR and CCPA regulations regarding data processing.

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Benefits of Using This Template

  • Thoroughness: Ensures all critical aspects are considered
  • Structure: Provides organized, consistent documentation
  • Collaboration: Facilitates input from different stakeholders
  • Clarity: Reduces ambiguity and misunderstandings
  • Efficiency: Speeds up the requirements gathering process
  • Traceability: Makes it easier to track requirements through implementation

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Next Steps

After completing your requirements document: Ready to create your requirements document? Start a new chat and select the Requirements Document template to begin.

Vendor Meeting Template

Ready to meet with potential vendors? Use our Vendor Meeting template to plan your agenda and questions.