Business Requirements Document Template | BRD vs FRD

Business Requirements Document

There are many use-cases for a business requirements document. A business requirements document, or BRD, details a high-level overview of a business-project. The BRD acts as a tool in planning and executing business plans. Emphasizing the business needs of an organization, a BRD provides project managers an eagle-eye view of business projects. This perspective provides useful and valuable information that can inform the decision-making process throughout the entire project. Equipping management teams with a business requirements document template enables the quick creation of detailed and thorough business requirements documents.

Business Requirements Document Template

Benefits Of Using A Business Requirements Document Template

The ability to quickly and swiftly create a BRD no-matter the situation or business project at hand results in greater efficiency within an organization and a stronger, more prepared project management team. The quick development of a BRD that is also thorough and robust in its project coverage enables the organization to gain a comprehensive understanding of the project scope before the onset of the project. 

A business requirements document should include important details such as a list of expenses and financial budget requirements or constraints. Additionally, there should be an estimated timeline for each of the individual functions and procedures associated with completing the project. Importantly, the BRD should be structured in such a way that it highlights business objectives and potential obstacles in achieving those objectives. The BRD should also include an overall statement from the companies perspective on whether or not the investment is worth pursuing. A decision should be drawn after analyzing the total investment implication both financially and in terms of labor.

The Elements Of A BRD

Some standard elements should be included in a BRD. Those elements are:

• A High-Level Project Overview.

• Success Factors.

• Project Scope.

• A Stakeholder Identification Process.

• Business Needs/Requirements.

• Solution Scope.

• Project Constraints.

• Measurables.

Together, these elements cover a project comprehensively and serve as an excellent skeleton for project managers to fill in. Providing a layered and moderately high-level project landscape. This also helps identify key aspects of stakeholders, business requirements, desired solutions, and project constraints like budget or labor concerns.

The Functional Requirements Document

The functional requirements document details the necessary inputs and results from a single function in a business process. The information found in an FRD is usually found in a BRD and is really just derivative content. The use of an FRD is completely optional, and most businesses actually don’t use FRD’s, as all the same information is found in the BRD. Since the same information is found in the BRD, FRD’s have mainly been phased out of business standards as they are often redundant and unnecessary.

However, some uses for an FRD are mainly based solely on the business's operational standards and expectations. If a company chooses to use an FRD, it will likely be supplementary to the overarching BRD.

BRD vs. FRD

A functional requirements document is different from a business requirements document, although many of the content would be derivative if not redundant. A functional requirements document describes the required functionality of a specific application, system, or process.

FRD’s are also high-level, but they serve as a tool that guides companies toward achieving the goals outlined in the BRD. While both BRD’s and FRD’s can be helpful and beneficial in completing projects and achieving the desired result, FRD’s can almost be encompassed within a BRD.

Some organizations will solely use BRD’s as they can serve both functions. Other organizations will choose to use both BRD’s and the derivative content to form an FRD. No solution will be perfect for every organization. Still, the use of FRD’s in accompaniment with BRD’s is more a product of preference and established processes rather than a universal workflow.

Creating A Business Requirements Document Template

There are simply too many possibilities to imagine them and all and prepare for each of them individually. However, some tools can be developed that establishes a framework to operate within. These tools then act as a versatile and universal preparation. Although each individual case's specifics may vary greatly, the function of the tool and the categories of required information may remain constant.

Business Requirements Document - BRD Template

The same is true for a business requirements document template. Creating a template for the BRD streamlines the project-preparation process. This allows businesses to more quickly assess projects in the pipeline and choose which are worth pursuing. Using a business requirements document template can even be used to expand the selection process. Developing BRD’s for multiple projects can also help a company decide which needs to be eliminated completely and better suited for pursuit in the longer run.

The Benefits Of A Business Requirements Document Template:

Streamlining Project Prep:

As mentioned throughout, streamlining the project preparation process is one of the main benefits of developing a business requirements document template. The project-prep process can be long and arduous, yet it’s crucial to the successful launch and completion of a business project that yields the desired results. Streamlining project-prep without sacrificing quality can be a tricky balance to strike. The use and implementation of a business requirements document template can help cut down the amount of time dedicated to project prep while still providing a thorough and comprehensive overview of the project, budget, and any expected obstacles.

Comprehending Scope:

The business requirements document also provides management, upper executives, and other important organizational members with a comprehensive project scope. This assists in long-term budgeting and grasping the actual cost of taking on any individual project. This is also where BRD’s can help more strategically plan the project pipeline. Projects with a predicted budget that fits within the current overall financial plan can be moved to the front of the line, while projects that require more than the available resources can be made more long-term. Organizing and prioritizing the projects in a company’s pipeline can begin developing the company's overarching long term plans and strategies. This provides further insight into five-year and ten-year goals, valuable information for executives and upper management.

Pursuing The Right Projects:

The comprehensive insight that a BRD provides to project management professionals and executive teams alike inform the decision-making process. Understanding the entire project, each of the individual processes and procedures can be viewed and analyzed. This helps determine the cost/benefit of both the individual steps and the project as a whole. This also provides the organization with the ability to track each step's expected inputs and results along the way.

Higher Project Success Rates:

Entering the project selection process with a solid grasp of the overall scope enables managers and decision-makers to select the projects with the highest probability of succeeding. The BRD acts as a roadmap for companies to complete projects on time and on budget. In turn, this leads to a higher success rate on projects that the firm or organization takes on. This increase in operational efficiency is vital to building a strong competitive edge for an organization and assisting in marketing efforts.

Summary

There are many far-reaching benefits of using a business requirements document template that have long-lasting and powerful implications. Techno-PM provides expertly designed project management templates to improve efficiency and supplement business processes. Easy to use, professional, and capable of saving invaluable time; the templates by Techno-PM provide solutions and tools to address a wide variety of business functions. Visit Techno-PM and start building a library of templates for every business process designed to be intuitive and amplify efficiency.