Identifying the right requirements is critical to the success of any AI implementation. The Requirements Workshop Planning template helps you organize a structured session to collect input from all key stakeholders and define clear expectations for your AI solution.

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When to Use This Template

This template is most valuable during the Requirements Gathering stage of your AI procurement journey. Use it when:

  • You need to align multiple stakeholders on what the AI solution must achieve
  • You’re gathering requirements from different departments with varying needs
  • You want to ensure both technical and business requirements are captured
  • You need a structured approach to prevent missing critical requirements

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What’s Included in the Template

The Requirements Workshop Planning template creates a comprehensive plan with:

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Workshop Objectives

A clear statement of what you aim to achieve in the session, such as:

  • Identifying functional requirements for the AI solution
  • Determining integration needs with existing systems
  • Capturing security and compliance requirements
  • Prioritizing features based on business impact

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Attendee List

Guidance on who should attend your workshop, typically including:

  • Business stakeholders (who will use and benefit from the AI)
  • Technical representatives (who understand integration considerations)
  • Security and compliance teams (who can address governance requirements)
  • Subject matter experts (who understand the current processes)

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Structured Agenda

A time-boxed agenda that guides participants through critical discussions:

  1. Introduction and context setting
  2. Icebreaker/opening discussion
  3. Business drivers identification
  4. Functional requirements brainstorming
  5. Non-functional requirements (security, performance, compliance)
  6. Review, prioritization, and reflection
  7. Next steps and action items

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Key Questions and Prompts

Tailored questions for each session to facilitate productive discussions:

For Business Drivers:

  • “What measurable business outcomes should this AI project achieve?”
  • “Which KPIs will be impacted by a successful implementation?”

For Functional Requirements:

  • “What specific capabilities must the AI solution provide?”
  • “How should users interact with the system?”
  • “What data sources need to be accessed?”

For Non-Functional Requirements:

  • “What security standards must be met?”
  • “What performance levels are expected?”
  • “What compliance requirements apply to this AI implementation?”

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Documentation Plan

A structure for capturing and organizing the inputs gathered during the workshop:

  • Requirements tracking template
  • Decision log format
  • Action items tracker
  • Risk and assumption register

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How to Use the Template

  1. Prepare: Answer the questions about your specific AI project context when prompted by Kowalah
  2. Customize: Review the generated workshop plan and modify it to your organization’s needs
  3. Distribute: Share the plan with attendees before the workshop so they can prepare
  4. Facilitate: Use the agenda and questions during your workshop to guide discussions
  5. Document: Capture inputs using the suggested documentation structure

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Best Practices for AI Requirements Workshops

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Before the Workshop

  • Pre-work: Consider sending participants a brief survey or preparation questions
  • Materials: Prepare examples of AI capabilities to spark ideas (e.g., demo videos)
  • Environment: Set up a collaborative space with whiteboards or digital collaboration tools
  • Roles: Assign a dedicated facilitator and note-taker to keep discussions productive

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During the Workshop

  • Focus on outcomes: Keep discussions centered on business objectives, not just features
  • Capture everything: Document all ideas, even if they seem impractical at first
  • Address AI-specific concerns: Pay special attention to data privacy, governance, and ethics
  • Prioritize: Use a simple scoring method (e.g., MoSCoW - Must have, Should have, Could have, Won’t have)

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After the Workshop

  • Distribute notes: Share documented requirements with all stakeholders quickly
  • Validate: Follow up with key stakeholders to confirm their inputs were captured correctly
  • Refine: Organize requirements into a formal document (Kowalah can help with this!)
  • Map to vendors: Connect requirements to vendor capabilities during the evaluation process

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AI-Specific Workshop Considerations

When gathering requirements for AI solutions, be sure to include these unique considerations:

  • Data requirements: What data will the AI need access to? What’s the current quality of this data?
  • Explainability needs: How important is it for users to understand how the AI reaches conclusions?
  • Human-in-the-loop: What level of human oversight and intervention is needed?
  • Training and feedback: How will the AI system improve over time?
  • Integration complexity: How will the AI solution connect with existing systems?
  • Governance framework: What policies will govern AI usage in your organization?

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Example Use Cases

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Enterprise AI Chatbot Requirements Workshop

A financial services company used this template to plan a workshop for defining requirements for an internal AI assistant. The workshop brought together representatives from customer service, compliance, IT, and executive leadership to define what the chatbot should do, what data it needed access to, and what guardrails were necessary.

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GenAI Content Creation Requirements Workshop

A marketing agency used this template to organize a workshop for defining requirements for an AI content generation platform. They included creative directors, content strategists, legal, and client representatives to establish content quality standards, brand voice guidelines, and approval workflows.

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Next Steps

Once you’ve completed your requirements workshop:

  1. Use Kowalah’s Requirements Document Template to formalize the gathered requirements
  2. Create a Vendor Evaluation Framework based on your prioritized requirements

Related Templates

Vendor Meeting Template

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

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