What problem does this requirement solve?

wop. field notes

Hey {{first_name|there}},

“We need a new system” is usually the start of a fairly long conversation, because it doesn’t tell you much about what’s going wrong.

Maybe requests keep getting lost, nobody knows who needs to approve them, or the team is copying the same information into three different places. A new system might help, but you need to understand the problem before deciding what to buy.

Otherwise, you can spend weeks collecting requirements that describe everyone’s favourite features, without agreeing what needs to improve.

Take “we need a supplier portal”. What do you need suppliers to do there - submit documents, update their details, check payment status, or all three? Who’s handling that work today, and where does it get stuck?

Those answers give you something useful to take to the market. They also help you check whether the supplier’s proposed solution will actually work for the people using it.

Before adding another requirement, ask: “What problem does this solve, and how will we know it’s working?”

If nobody can answer, park it until they can. You’ve probably got enough requirements already.

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The wop. procurement requirements guide helps you describe the outcome, scope, and constraints, without prescribing every detail of the supplier’s solution.

Then use the RFI, RFQ, and RFP guide to choose how to approach the market. You might need to learn what’s available before asking anyone for a proposal.

In this video, I explain how the procurement process fits together, including when to use an RFI, RFQ, or RFP. The sourcing-document section starts at 7:37, if that’s the bit you need today.

Daniel