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How do I write a requirements document for my app?

Updated October 12, 2026

The short answer

A requirements document answers five questions: what is the problem and for whom? Who uses the system and what is each role? What can each user do, written as short stories? How do we know each feature is done, meaning the acceptance criteria? And what will we not build now? Write it in plain language in a few pages. A short, clear document beats a long one nobody reads.

People also ask this as
  • how to write a requirements document
  • SRS template for a small app
  • how to write a PRD
  • what should I give a developer before they start

The sections of the document

SectionWhat goes in it
GoalThe problem we solve and for whom, in three lines
Users and rolesCustomer, staff, manager, and what each one sees
User stories'As a receptionist I want to record an appointment so that bookings never clash'
Acceptance criteriaWhat must happen for a story to count as done
DataWhat is stored: customers, orders, products, and the fields of each
Out of scopeWhat we deliberately leave for a later version

How to write it

  1. 1
    Write out a full working day

    What happens from the first order until the till is closed? That is the source of every story.

  2. 2
    Turn it into short stories

    One story per action, in the form: who, what they want, and why.

  3. 3
    Add an acceptance criterion to each

    A sentence that can be checked with yes or no.

  4. 4
    Order by priority

    What the business cannot run without comes first; the rest comes later.

  5. 5
    Show it to the people who will use it

    Staff know details the manager does not.

What is the difference between an SRS and a PRD?

A product requirements document, or PRD, focuses on what we build, why and for whom. An SRS is more detailed and technical, and is usually asked for in contracts and tenders. A small project is fine with one document that covers both.

People also ask

What is an AI product manager?

An AI product manager is an assistant that does a product manager's early work: it asks about your audience, their problem and what the app must do, uncovers details you missed, then writes a requirements document and an ordered task list. It does not decide for you or know your market better, but it turns a vague idea into a written plan that can be built.

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Website, mobile app, Windows program or game: which one?

Choose by where the user is, not by fashion. If customers search for you and order from any device, you need a website or web app. If they return often and you need notifications or the camera, a mobile app. If the work happens on the shop computer and the internet may drop, a Windows program. For entertainment, learning or an interactive campaign, a game that opens from a link.

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Can it test a site or app I did not build?

Yes. A browser-based QA agent can test any website or web app that has an address, whether a freelancer, an agency or another platform built it, because it works with what the user sees, not with the code. The condition is that the site is yours or you are allowed to test it. This is especially useful when accepting a project from an outside vendor before the final payment.

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Where do I start with digital transformation?

Start digital transformation with one problem that repeats every day, not by buying a big system. Write down how work flows today, step by step, pick the process that wastes the most time or causes the most errors, and turn it into a simple system the team really uses. Once it works within weeks, move to the next process. Transformation is a chain of small wins, not one huge project.

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Terms used in this answer

Software requirements specificationSRSProduct requirements documentPRDUser storyAcceptance criteria

Read the full guide

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