The demonstration is impressive, but it does not show whether the product handles your difficult cases. Business software requirements should describe the workflow, information, decisions and acceptance checks the tool must support. Start with the work before ranking features.
Photo by GRIN on Unsplash.
Define the business outcome
Explain the problem, affected users and expected change. “We need a CRM” is a product category. “Delivery needs an accepted client brief before kickoff” describes a result that different solutions might support. Keep the current process and its exceptions available as evidence.
Write testable requirements
User and task.
Trigger, inputs and permitted access.
Required action or decision.
Exception or failure route.
Output and acceptance check.
Priority, owner and relevant constraint.
Distinguish requirements from preferences. If an item is mandatory, explain the consequence of not meeting it. Do not label everything essential simply because the team can imagine a use for it.
An illustrative demo request
Ask a supplier to show an incomplete enquiry, a potential duplicate and a handoff awaiting approval. Watch how the owner sees and resolves each case. A successful happy-path demonstration alone cannot establish that the business can run the workflow on a difficult day.
Keep the decision evidence
Use a simple evidence scale for each requirement: demonstrated in the relevant case, confirmed through documentation, or still untested. Record the source and reviewer. Ask for a controlled trial when a material requirement remains uncertain, rather than converting a sales assurance into an accepted result. Include the failed-case behaviour in the acceptance check, not just the successful screen sequence.
Related guidance: practical process-mapping guide.
Record what was demonstrated, what remains an assumption and what needs a trial or confirmation. Include setup, data preparation, training and ongoing ownership in the operating decision. Hili Consulting can help translate process needs into requirements that make demonstrations more useful and comparisons less superficial.
