Software Development

Entrepreneur's Guide: How to Prepare a Software Project for a Development Firm

A practical framework to turn your idea into a clear brief developers can estimate and build.

Updated: 20 July 2025
15 min read
Zenevo Team

A practical framework to turn your idea into a clear brief developers can estimate and build. Use our free templates to accelerate: project brief, feature list, and user-journey worksheet.

STEP 1

Define the Problem and Target Users

Key Questions to Answer:

  • What pain does the product remove? For whom?
  • Who are the first users (MVP audience)?
  • What is success in 3-6 months? Quantify it.
STEP 2

Map Core User Journeys

Describe end-to-end flows for the key activities (max 3-5). Keep it outcome-focused.

Sign up / onboarding

How users get started

Primary task flow

E.g., create order, submit request

Administration basics

Core admin functionality

STEP 3

Write the MVP Feature List

Group features by areas and mark priority: Must / Should / Later.

Authentication and roles

User login, permissions, role management

Data model: main entities and relations

Define core data structures and relationships

Integrations (if any) and constraints

Third-party services, APIs, technical limitations

STEP 4

Non-Functional Requirements

Performance and availability expectations

Define your requirements and expectations

Compliance, security, data residency

Define your requirements and expectations

Reporting, analytics, audit

Define your requirements and expectations

STEP 5

Budget, Timeline, and Risks

Essential Planning Elements:

  • Desired launch window and critical milestones
  • Budget range and must-have scope for MVP
  • Known risks, dependencies, unknowns

Download Templates

Use our free templates to accelerate: project brief, feature list, and user-journey worksheet.

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