IT Glossary
What is a requirements specification?
The document describing what the commissioned software must do — the basis for comparable quotes and the arbiter of later disagreements.
The most expensive words in a software project are we assumed that was obvious, and a requirements specification exists so that nobody has to say them. The document describes what the application must do: the processes covered, the types of user and their permissions, the data managed, the integrations required, the volumes expected, and the criteria by which delivery will be accepted. It does not have to be technical — on the contrary, the most valuable specification describes the business: how an order travels through the company today, where time is lost, what has to change. On its basis you receive quotes that can actually be compared, and during the project it arbitrates what is included in the price and what is an additional request. For EU-funded projects, a specification is mandatory under the programme guidelines. A serious supplier will help you refine it before quoting, and a refusal to engage with it at all is the clearest warning signal you will get.
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Why it matters for your business
Comparable quotes instead of guesswork
Every supplier prices the same clearly described object, so price differences become meaningful rather than the by-product of different assumptions.
An arbiter for the was-this-included argument
What is written is delivered within the price; what is not written is negotiated separately. Disputes end with a quotation from the document, not with lawyers.
Thinking done before spending
Writing the document forces you to clarify how the company actually works, and many businesses discover valuable simplifications before paying for a single line of code.
Frequently asked questions
How detailed does the requirements specification need to be?
Detailed enough that each major capability is verifiable at delivery. Manages orders is useless; the user sees orders filtered by status and receives a notification when the status changes is verifiable. Fine screen details can be refined during the project — business flows cannot.
Who should write it — us or the supplier?
Ideally both. You bring the processes and business priorities; a consultant or the supplier brings structure and the questions that surface exceptions. A document written entirely by the supplier risks describing what is convenient for them to build.
Does a specification block changes during the project?
No. It fixes the starting point and the mechanism for change: every modification is assessed transparently for time and cost impact. Without a reference document, each change becomes a negotiation conducted from conflicting memories.
Let’s talk about your project
Message us on WhatsApp or send an email — you talk directly to a developer.
office@northdan.com · +40 752 070 247