Automation projects often lose months not because the technology is hard, but because the work is unclear. Teams start building, discover exceptions, rework configurations, and end up with a system that doesn’t match operations.
A requirements pack is a practical way to prevent this. It is a set of documents that makes the workflow explicit and implementable—before any tool is configured.
The hidden cost of unclear requirements
Unclear requirements lead to:
- Endless alignment meetings
- Rework due to late exception discovery
- Conflicting KPI definitions
- Workarounds and shadow spreadsheets
- Low adoption because the system feels “not for us”
The cost shows up as time, frustration, and lost trust.
What to include in a practical requirements pack
A strong requirements pack includes six parts:
1) Workflow definition
- Start/end triggers
- Stages and status definitions
- SLAs and time windows
2) Roles and governance
- Who submits, reviews, approves, escalates
- Decision rights by risk level
- Delegation rules (who can act when someone is absent)
3) Data requirements
- Mandatory fields and definitions
- Valid values (drop-down lists)
- Source of truth (master data references)
4) Business rules and thresholds
- Approval thresholds
- Priority logic
- Trigger logic for notifications/escalation
5) Exception handling
- Top exceptions and their handling paths
- When to allow override, and who approves overrides
- Audit trail requirements
6) Reporting outputs
- KPI definitions and formulas
- Dashboard views by routine (daily/weekly)
- Triggers and action rules
Add acceptance criteria and test scenarios
Implementation becomes smoother when you define:
- Acceptance criteria (“the workflow is correct when…”)
- Test scenarios that reflect reality (including exceptions)
Example scenarios:
- “Urgent request with incomplete data”
- “Approval delayed beyond SLA”
- “Asset ID missing from master list”
- “Override requested with justification”
Test scenarios force clarity—and reduce late surprises.
Make the handover usable
A requirements pack should be written so IT or a partner can implement without constant interpretation. Keep it:
- Structured and consistent
- Clear definitions (no ambiguous language)
- Supported with examples and edge cases
- Tied to operational routines and decisions
Where INJARO helps
This is a core INJARO contribution: we produce automation-ready requirements packs—workflow, governance, data logic, reporting logic, and exception handling—so implementation can be done efficiently by internal IT or an implementation partner. INJARO can support as a functional advisor, but we do not build the systems.
The fastest automation project is the one that starts with clarity.
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