Three people at a table over printed pages, one writing notes in the margin.

Manage requirements before you commit to price and date.

For IT service providers and agencies who turn a requirements spec (German: Lastenheft) into a quote that holds: a guide, templates and a functional spec generator, all free.

Create a functional spec

The problem

What the spec leaves out, you pay for later.

You have just received a requirements spec, and your client expects a quote or a functional spec. Whatever it leaves out will cost you time and margin later: work the fixed price does not cover, and discussions about scope. Here you learn what to look for before you name a price.

An example: how one line turns into 82 hours →

Lukas Ebner sits at a window table in a café and looks into the camera.

What you get here

Four resources, all free.

Take whatever fits your situation. Each one works on its own, with or without Leadtime.

Who it is for

Where you are now, and where to start.

You are a service provider with a requirements spec from a client.

Check whether it is enough for a fixed price. Give the price first as an indicative quote: not yet binding, with a status for each item. After the award, write the functional spec.

You are a client writing a requirements spec.

Describe what you need and why. The less you leave open, the more precisely a service provider can estimate.

You want to understand the topic.

The guide explains the terms and the route from requirements spec to quote. The example shows it on one case.

Step by step

The generator only asks what changes the effort.

1
Upload the requirements spec
The generator reads it and structures it into epics (big themes) and work packages (parts with a testable result that you estimate).
2
Answer ten questions at most
Each question points to the line it refers to. “Don’t know yet” is a valid answer.
3
Get the draft functional spec
As Word and PDF, with your logo, usually in the same session. Anything you don’t know yet stays in as an open point. The effort column stays empty: you estimate the hours.

The generator at the check step: 48 requirements, 6 proposed epics, 11 clearly testable lines, 9 questions, next to the requirements spec checklist. — The check step in the generator, using the fictional requirements spec from the book.

Frequently asked questions

What people often ask.

What is requirements management?

Handling all of a project’s requirements, from the first conversation to acceptance: eliciting them, writing them down, agreeing them with the client and tracking changes. The goal is that both sides mean the same thing by the result. More in the guide →

What does the generator cost?

Nothing. You do not need an account. To keep it from being used as a bulk tool, there is a monthly limit. Your email address is optional.

I am the client. Does this help me too?

The generator is built for service providers who have received a requirements spec. For clients there is the requirements spec template, the ten-question checklist and the guide.

Next step

Got a requirements spec from a client? Turn it into a functional spec.

Upload the requirements spec and answer ten questions at most, only the ones that change the effort. You get a structured draft functional spec with your logo, as Word and PDF. Anything still unclear is marked as open. You estimate the hours yourself.

Create a functional spec Talk to Lukas Ebner instead

Freeno account, email address optional
10 questions at mosteverything else is marked as open in the spec
Word and PDFwith your logo and colour