Steering your project towards success with the specifications [+ model].
Specifications are an invaluable tool when you're scoping your project.
Whether you're planning to launch your website, a mobile application, a redesign or any other digital project, drawing up a set of specifications is the first essential step towards a successful project.
To help you get to grips with how to write them, this article explains what a specification is, what it's used for and what the different types are (functional specifications and technical specifications).
☝️ We also provide you with our specifications template, an example and tools to help you write your own.
What are specifications?
Specifications: definition
The specifications document, also known as the CDC, is a document drawn up at the start of a project. It is used to formalise the needs, objectives, constraints, scope, expected functionalities, deadlines and estimated budget.
It is usually the project manager who is responsible for drawing up the specifications, although they can also be drawn up externally by a service provider.
What are the benefits of drawing up specifications?
The specifications allow you to :
- think about and define your objectives. You can then determine the elements that will need to be present to meet them;
- Define the project's priorities;
- help your contacts to give you the best possible advice;
- estimate the budget and timescales needed to complete the project;
- draw up a workload plan to help you manage your resources.
In practical terms, the purpose of the specifications is to serve as a basis for planning and managing the project.
When should specifications be drawn up?
Specifications should be drawn up before your project is launched.
As you will have realised, this document is essential for precisely defining the specifications and objectives of complex projects, whether they involve :
- launching new products
- working with suppliers
- approving budgets.
It plays a central role in ensuring a uniform understanding between all stakeholders, reducing the risk of misunderstandings and optimising project management.
This document is therefore crucial before launching initiatives requiring close coordination and a clear definition of expectations.
2 types of specifications: functional and technical
There are two types of specifications:
- Functional specifications: these are designed to outline a project. It defines the needs that the future product will have to meet, in terms of functionality. It is then passed on as the basis for the technical specifications, which translate the functional requirements into technical specifications.
- Technical specifications: these focus on the technical side of project development. It translates the functional needs into technical requirements, and highlights the various constraints. This document is essential to the work of the developers, in order to maximise the chances of precisely meeting the needs.
💡 Functional and technical specifications are often included in the same overall specification, but they can also be written separately.
Do you prefer visual explanations? This video explains everything you need to know about specifications. 🎬
How do you draw up your project specifications? Content and best practice
Step 1: Present the company
This first task involves briefly describing the company for which the project is being carried out. It is particularly useful when external service providers are called in, so that they have a clear idea of who their customer is.
It is not necessary to be exhaustive. All you need to do is list the information that is essential to understanding the company's raison d'être (its why).
👉 A few examples:
- its business sector and market,
- its core business
- its flagship products or services,
- its short, medium and long-term vision,
- its contacts.
Stage 2: Present the project
The context
- What needs does it have to meet?
- Why did they emerge and how?
- Who will benefit from the project?
The aim here is to explain the ins and outs of the project, so that everyone involved understands what's at stake and works to meet it as effectively as possible.
👉 Example:
Project to overhaul an EDM business software package to better meet user needs.
The objectives
The same type of project can conceal different intentions and objectives. This is why it is essential to be aware of them and to specify the expected results, in order to:
- move in the right direction
- make informed decisions.
💡 The SMART method is the best way of doing this. It involves assessing the appropriateness of an objective by ensuring that it is:
- Specific(clearly defined, in particular using the QQOQCP method,
- Measurable(quantifiable),
- Achievable(taking into account the necessary resources available, for example),
- Realistic(relevant),
- Time-defined(by setting a deadline, in particular by defining a roadmap).
👉 A few examples:
- achieve a response rate for its platform that is twice as fast ;
- increase user productivity by 50%;
- dematerialising the document validation circuit.
The scope
Setting the scope of a project involves defining its limits, with the aim of precisely determining the framework in which it will evolve:
- Does the project concern a company? A group?
- Is the impact regional, departmental, national or international?
- Does it involve the use of several languages? Etc.
👉 Example:
The platform is used by the group's various branches, spread throughout France. This represents around 250 users.
Existing elements
Finally, you need to include any existing elements that will make the project easier to understand and implement.
👉 Some examples:
- previous versions,
- mock-ups
- presentation documents
- domain name, etc.
Step 3: describe the project target
You may have specified in the previous stage who the project is aimed at, but in some cases you need to go into more detail. The more precisely you describe your target (or targets), the greater your chances of reaching them. While this exercise is not easy to carry out, it will make you more relevant to the work you've done.
💡 Is your project aimed at your customers? Then define your marketing persona, i.e. the fictitious profile of your ideal customer, with as much information as possible:
- first name
- age
- personal situation
- occupation
- salary,
- interests,
- questions, problems encountered, constraints,
- extracts of sentences written or spoken, type of vocabulary used.
To glean this information, you can :
- Ask your customers questions;
- analyse information from your prospects;
- read discussions on forums dealing with their problems;
- gather more precise information from contact or download forms.
👉 Example:
Check out our article dedicated to persona marketing, which features a downloadable example and template to help you create your own.
Step 4: Assess your competition
Although this step is optional depending on the type of project, it quickly becomes essential in certain cases, such as website development. If you want to position your site successfully, you need to know who your main and secondary competitors are, and list the most important information about them in your specifications.
Then it's up to you to determine your positioning by proposing something fundamentally new, or something similar but better suited to the needs of your target audience.
👉 A few examples:
- Who are your direct and indirect competitors?
- What are their strengths?
- What are their weaknesses?
- What is their positioning and brand image?
- What differentiates you from them?
Step 5: Define your graphic and ergonomic guidelines
In the context of web projects, this part is useful when :
- you already have a graphic charter in order to specify its components;
- you want to create a new one, but want it to be consistent with the previous one.
👉 Examples of elements to specify:
- the logo,
- typography
- colours
- illustrations, etc.
Step 6: Set a budget
Providing an estimate of the overall budget will help potential service providers to draw up their quotes.
☝️ Be careful not to underestimate it! It should be consistent with your requirements, but also include all the elements that will have an impact on the project in the long term, such as the scalability of software or a website, for example.
Step 7: Specify the lead times
In your specifications, specify the deadline by which the final deliverable will be provided. As with the budget, don't underestimate the time needed to complete each element. Be realistic, otherwise you risk :
- not meeting deadlines ;
- ending up with a botched project.
💡 Good to know: the delivery date in the specifications may be included in a quotation or invoice and become contractually binding.
For complex projects, don't hesitate to set different milestones (with intermediate deliverables) and propose a schedule in the form of a Gantt chart.
Step 8: List the functional specifications
The functional specialities set out the objectives of the project and what the product is going to do. 💭
They are also used to establish the technical specialities, but we'll come back to that later.
Functionalities
The functional part of the specifications aims to translate, as its name suggests, the requirements into functionalities.
The more you detail this part :
- the less the functionalities will be open to interpretation ;
- and the closer the deliverables are to your objectives.
👉 Example:
- title,
- objective,
- description,
- target,
- sub-features,
- constraints and management rules,
- level of priority.
💡 How can you make sure you list all the features to be developed without forgetting any? Some teams choose to use impact mapping. This method involves drawing up a map by asking:
- What is the main objective of the site?
- Who are the targets?
- What are their needs?
- What functionalities can meet these needs?
Example of impact mapping for a hotel website:
The tree structure
If your project involves a website or mobile application, propose your vision of its tree structure in the specifications.
👉 Example:
- categories,
- sub-categories
- navigation,
- organisation.
💡 To make it easier for the reader to read, present it in the form of a diagram. Let's take the example of our hotel again:
The content
Finally, in this section, list the different types of content that will appear on your website.
👉 Some examples:
- blog articles
- videos
- images,
- downloadable documents.
Don't hesitate to give details of how you want them to be presented and managed.
Step 9: List the technical specifications
If the functional specifications detail what the product is going to do, the technical specifications detail how the product is going to do it. ⚙️
It therefore aims to highlight the technical requirements and constraints of the project to meet the needs, and also mentions preferences for development methods and processes.
👉 Some examples:
- online payment methods,
- the hosting solution
- server architecture,
- choice of platform or CMS,
- administration tools,
- integration constraints,
- computer language,
- data security management,
- maintenance,
- migration,
- browser compatibility, etc.
Step 10: Add any appendices
Finally, add any documents that may be useful for thinking about or carrying out the project as appendices.
👉 Example:
- Wireframes,
- mock-ups
- mock-ups,
- sketches.
💡 Using the right software makes it much easier to draw up your specifications.
⚒️ Take the example of the monday.com collaborative working platform for project managers.
This 100% customisable tool gives you a centralised, real-time view of your company's workflows and projects. As a result, you'll be able to pinpoint the key elements of your specifications, such as company priorities, deadlines and available human and budgetary resources. This information is visible to everyone, encouraging communication and collaboration.
Sample project specifications to download
To help you draw up the specifications for your project, Appvizer has provided a sample specification in PDF format for you to fill in. It's up to you to fill it in with your own information!
Example of a complete specification
🔎 Note: The company names, people, tools and data mentioned in this example are entirely fictitious. Any resemblance to real entities would be purely coincidental.
Presentation of the company
Name: Cultiveo
Sector: Sustainable AgriTech
Market: France / Spain / Belgium
Core business: Development of intelligent sensors to optimise irrigation and soil management
Flagship products: SensoDrop weather sensor, SolTrack mobile application
Vision: By 2028, Cultiveo aims to reduce water consumption on European farms by 30%.
Contacts: Digital projects manager, IT department, software product manager
Presentation of the project
The context
Cultiveo's rapid growth is making internal project management more complex. Each team uses a different tool, which leads to duplication and a lack of visibility.
The project consisted in creating a unified management tool for all the teams (technical, marketing, logistics), in order to centralise workflows and improve efficiency.
The objectives
- Specific: to create an internal portal for managing multi-team projects
- Measurable: increase the rate of deliveries on time by 40
- Achievable: the team had already been trained in Notion and Trello
- Realistic: budget and internal resources validated
- Timely: production scheduled to start before 30 November 2025
Scope
The project concerns 5 departments, i.e. 110 users spread over 3 countries. It must operate in 3 languages: French, Spanish and English.
Existing elements
- Organisational templates on Trello (to be migrated)
- Visual identity (.AI and .PDF graphic guidelines)
- Reserved internal domain name: project.cultiveo.work
- Onboarding documentation shared on Google Drive
Project target
Target: employees in charge of project monitoring in the product, IT, and R&D divisions.
Main persona: Karim, junior project manager, 28 years old, uses Notion on a daily basis, looking for a more visual and structuring tool to manage multi-country projects.
Evaluation of the competition
3 solutions analysed:
- FlowTrack: very comprehensive but expensive
- ProManage360: good API compatibility but dated UX
- Stratiplan: easy to learn, but limited reporting capabilities
Differentiators sought: flexibility, multi-user, connectors with the Google suite, etc.
Graphic and ergonomic charter
- Logo: square version + text version (SVG and PNG)
- Colours: forest green (#0E9438), sand (#E7D7BA), black (#101010)
- Typography: Inter (regular, medium, bold)
- Illustrations: outline vector pictograms
Budget
Budget: €14,000 excluding VAT for customisation, integration, documentation and 1-year maintenance
Timeframe
- Launch: 10 September 2025
- Beta version: 15 October 2025
- Final acceptance: 25 November 2025
Milestones will be tracked using a Gantt chart integrated into the platform
Functional specifications
Expected functionalities
- Creation of projects with phases and sub-tasks
- Assigning roles and managing access rights
- Kanban view + weekly planning view
- Notification centre and comment system
- Modification history
Tree structure
- Dashboard
- My projects
- Calendar
- Resource centre
- Administration
Content
- Project descriptions
- Sample deliverables
- Monitoring forms
- Attachments (.docx, .pdf, .csv)
Technical specifications
- European cloud (OVHcloud or Scaleway)
- SSO authentication (Google, Azure)
- Multilingual support
- REST API for internal CRM integration
- Daily backup + AES-256 encryption
- RGPD compliance
Appendices
- Cultiveo graphic charter
- Low-fidelity wireframe mock-ups (PDF)
- Competitor analysis table
- User roles diagram
Make writing your specifications easier with AI: 5 tools
Writing specifications can quickly become a Chinese puzzle: too much information, not enough time, and an already busy team. The good news is that AI can help!
By analysing your needs, your project scope and your objectives, artificial intelligence can generate a structured, clear and 100% personalised document. It guides you step by step, from the company presentation to the functional or technical specifications.
✅ Results :
- you save time,
- you forget fewer key parts
- you produce a solid specification project.
It's also a clever tool for aligning all the stakeholders from the outset, and avoiding grey areas during the course of the project.
And no, it's not just for geeks or big companies. Many tools are available free of charge or at low cost, and can be integrated into your favourite project management software.
🛠️ Some AI tools to help you:
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Notion AI: perfect for structuring a specifications directly in your collaborative workspace;
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ChatGPT: generates customised specification templates from detailed prompts;
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Tability: transforms your project objectives into clear, time-bound action plans, perfect for applying the SMART method directly in your CDC;
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Whimsical AI: creates diagrams, tree diagrams, wireframes and mind maps with intelligent help, super useful for visually illustrating the scope or functionality of the project;
-
Taskade AI : generates workflows from a simple brief, useful for defining project stages and automating their breakdown into tasks.
So, are you ready to turn the drudgery of writing specifications into an AI-assisted express assignment? 😉
A specification and agility to anticipate changes
The specifications are essential for providing a framework for your project, and helping you to think through and formalise your needs and objectives. It enables them to be communicated to the various stakeholders, so that everyone can make informed decisions in their work and offer solutions to best meet them.
However, you have to accept that the project may evolve, either because new external factors change the situation, or because it is difficult to be exhaustive and perfectly precise in expressing your needs.
This is where working with an agile method becomes interesting, because it allows a functional version of the product to be presented as soon as possible, so that adjustments can be made to the specifications during the course of the project.