Free Project Requirement Templates and Documents

By Kate Eby | March 11, 2022

Project requirements templates can help you track work you need to complete. We’ve compiled the top templates for project sponsors, analysts, developers, and stakeholders, as well as for software, information technology, and small-project teams.

Included on this page, you’ll find a simple project requirements template, a software project requirements document template, an information technology (IT) project definition template, and a project requirements gathering checklist template. Plus, you’ll learn about the elements of project requirements templates and how to use them.

Simple Project Requirements Template

Simple Project Requirements Template

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Microsoft Excel | Microsoft Word | Adobe PDF | Google Sheets

Use this simple project requirements document template to keep your project on track. Enter your project overview (e.g., the proposed solution, what the project is intended to achieve, and the business justification); the technical, functional, reporting, and security requirements; and the proposed process-flow details. The template provides ample space to list project requirement considerations, addendums, and appendices, and it includes a document-tracking table for version control.

Project Requirements Specification Template

Project Requirements Specification Template

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This project requirements specification template provides space to detail project scope, the tentative schedule (including key milestones), resources, anticipated costs, benefits, and roles (e.g., process owner, key stakeholders, and final customer). In the Project Overview section, enter the problem or issue, the project purposes, the business case, the goals and metrics, and the expected deliverables. The template also provides a section to list project risks, constraints, and assumptions, so that you can anticipate — and prevent — any potential setbacks.

Project Requirements Gathering Checklist Template

Project Requirements Gathering Checklist Template

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Microsoft Excel | Microsoft Word | Adobe PDF

Use this checklist template to ensure that you account for every project requirement on your list. Under the appropriate Action section header, enter the task you need to complete (e.g., project initiation, requirements discovery and research, requirements analysis), as well as a description and any requirements. Use the Priority and Status columns to track which requirements are the most important and the completion status of each. This project requirements gathering checklist template also includes space to note approval statuses, desired date of delivery, and date rationale.

Project Requirements Example Template

Project Requirements Example Template

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Stakeholders and team members can view your project’s requirements with this project requirements example template, which includes sample text that you can edit. Enter project number, date submitted, and project objectives, and then flesh out or project requirements (including step-by-step notes for project deliverables), project tasks, out-of-scope items, project assumptions, and project constraints (e.g., hard deadlines, key milestones, budget constraints, quality or performance constraints). The template provides space for project-related estimated hours to completion and a complete Approvals table that you can use to gain stakeholder buy-in.

Software Project Requirement Document Template

Software Project Requirement Document Template

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Microsoft Excel | Adobe PDF

Use this software project requirement document template to map out logistics for your project. First, enter organization details (e.g., project name, version number, and client point of contact), as well as contact information, and project team names, titles, and their contact details. Provide a project overview description, background (i.e., project justification), resource requirements, and fee-summary details. Use the template’s unique Operations & Support section to specify a software project communication plan, quality management plan, software project training plan, and requirements details around regulatory compliance. 

For details on functional specification requirements and how they relate to project requirements, read this article on functional specifications templates.

Project Definition Sample Template

Project Definition Sample Template

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Use this project definition sample template with editable example text to define your project’s requirements, including deliverables, tasks, scope, assumptions, constraints, and approval processes. Then, define your work breakdown structure (WBS) to ensure that you execute your proposed deliverables and meet — and exceed — market expectations. This comprehensive template helps teams remain accountable for the details of every requirement related to their particular project.

IT Project Definition Template

IT Project Definition Template

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Capture all of your information technology (IT) project’s implementation factors with this all-inclusive IT project definition template. The fully customizable template prompts you to enter your organization details, project overview, primary objective, and business case. Then, enter any potential project risks, define what is out of scope of the project, and specify any related technical elements. This template helps IT departments proactively prepare for project rollout, and it includes sections to add a technical design diagram, connection details, storage and network information, and data flow details, as well as to note any ancillary equipment you use.

Agile Project Plan Template

Agile Project Plan Template

Download Agile Project Plan Template — Microsoft Excel 

Use this dynamic Agile project plan template to plan, track, and manage all aspects of an Agile development project. First, enter your project name, project manager, project deliverables, and scope statement. The template allows you to break down your Agile sprints into features with tasks, assign story points to each task, indicate whether a task is at risk, and assign these tasks to team members. The template also includes a Gantt chart, which automatically adjusts when you edit the task components to provide an easy-to-read visual representation of your Agile project timeline.

Simple Project Definition Template

Project Definition Template

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Microsoft Word | Adobe PDF | Google Docs

This comprehensive project definition template prompts you to enter general project information, such as the project name, project manager, project sponsor, organizational unit, expected project dates, estimated project costs, and expected savings. The template also includes a Project Overview section to define the problem or issue the project will solve, the business case, and the goals and metrics that you will use to gauge the project’s success, as well as a Project Scope section. This customizable template also works in tandem with Six Sigma methodology and has space for belt levels (e.g., “Green Belts Assigned” or “Black Belts Assigned”) to ensure that you optimize project progress.

Technical Requirements Document Template

Technical Requirements Document Template

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Microsoft Excel | Adobe PDF

Keep all team members on the same page as your technical project advances — from strategic and planning stages to successful implementation — with this technical requirements document template. Enter a high-level project overview that details the project’s purpose and proposed solution, technical requirements (e.g., functional requirements, reporting requirements, and security requirements), technical process flow, and technical considerations. The template provides an Addendums & Appendices section that you can use to reference associated documentation. 

For helpful tips on writing technical specifications for projects, see this article on technical specification templates.

Project Requirements Analysis Document (RAD) Template

Project Requirements Analysis Document RAD Template

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Use this project requirements analysis document (RAD) template to analyze the effectiveness of your proposed or in-progress project plan. Enter the project’s purpose, business requirements, functional requirements, and compliance requirements to ensure that the project will benefit both the developer and the customer. This project RAD template also includes a Version History section to document version control and a Functional Requirements Document Authorization Memorandum section to note project plan acceptance and executive or sponsor sign-off. 

For solutions and resources to ensure that you optimize project requirements documentation, read our article on project documentation templates.

Project Definition Report Template

Project Definition Report Template

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Microsoft Word | Google Docs 

Use this all-inclusive project definition report template to align project requirement components as your project progresses. The template allows you to report out weekly project status, including any roadblocks, overages, potential risks or delays, and milestones met or missed. Enter any reportable budget, resource, timeline, or project delivery issues, so that you can define any project deliverable delays and proactively communicate these delays to team members, executives, and project sponsors.

Project Definition Statement Template

Project Definition Statement Template

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Microsoft Excel | Microsoft Word | Adobe PDF

Notify all stakeholders of project progress with this project definition statement template. The template includes sections to list project objectives, project deliverables, project tasks, project scope, and project assumptions. It also includes a detailed breakdown of project constraints, such as hard deadlines, key milestones, budget constraints, quality or performance constraints, equipment or personnel constraints, and regulatory constraints.

Project Capacity Planning Template

Project Capacity Planning Template

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Microsoft Excel | Google Sheets | Smartsheet

Use this project capacity planning template to anticipate and facilitate any project-related resource requirements. Enter project phases, start and end dates, and resource requirements (e.g., organizational area, role, quantity, rate of pay). The template’s visually rich bar chart provides an easy-to-follow visualization of phase-by-phase capacity planning for your project.

Project Scope Statement Template

Project Scope Statement Template

Download Project Scope Statement Template — Microsoft Word

Keep all stakeholders in the loop with this project scope statement that prompts you to define what is in — and out — of project scope. Specify your project objectives, deliverables, and tasks, so that anyone reading the document can understand what is within project scope. Use the Out of Scope section to specify what the project is not responsible for accomplishing, so that you set all project team members’ and sponsors’ expectations appropriately.

Project Requirements Matrix Template

Project Requirements Matrix Template

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Microsoft Excel | Google Sheets

This streamlined project requirements matrix template enables you to rank each of your project’s requirements to ensure you account for them and are on track for project success. Enter who requested each requirement, as well as the requirement’s details, business value, business risk, implementation challenges, chance of success, compliance, and relationship to other requirements. Use the unique ranking system for each requirement’s criteria to ensure that you identify your project’s highest-priority items and can successfully implement them.

What Is a Project Requirements Template?

A project requirements template provides an outline of the requirements needed to execute a project, including purpose, scope, features, tasks, deliverables, and milestones. Use a template to define your project’s criteria to stay on track for successful implementation.

While technical requirements and functional requirements serve to define the project’s specific logistical deliverables, project requirements provide a blueprint for a project’s high-level, comprehensive goals. A project requirements template functions as a guide for your project’s goals and how you will deliver them, as well as how team members should execute the project, based on concrete descriptions of the project’s scope and its defined purpose. 

Though project requirements may vary, your project requirements document will typically include the following elements: 

  • Assumptions and Constraints: Detail the project assumptions and any limitations that will affect the project’s deliverables.
  • Considerations: List any relevant details about the project team, clarify the project communication plan, and create a project delivery timeline.
  • Functional Requirements: Specify any functionality that the project must deliver. 
  • Milestones: List major landmarks that the project should meet, and a delivery date for each to gauge the project’s progress.
  • Out of Scope: Detail any project-related components that are not part of the project’s core deliverables and that the project is not required to deliver. 
  • Project Deliverables: Provide a list of project-specific offerings, and what is required in order to implement each one.
  • Project Manager: List the name of the team member responsible for gathering and defining project requirements.
  • Project Name: Enter the name of the project for which you are writing requirements.
  • Project Overview: Include a high-level description of the project and its proposed solution, including the project’s background, the problem it will solve, and business justification for undertaking the project.
  • Project Risks: List any potential threats to the project, and any planned mitigation or contingency actions to address them.
  • Scope of Work: Specify the range of tasks that the project will cover. These tasks are considered in scope of the project.

Streamline Project Requirements Documentation with Smartsheet for Project Management

From simple task management and project planning to complex resource and portfolio management, Smartsheet helps you improve collaboration and increase work velocity -- empowering you to get more done. 

The Smartsheet platform makes it easy to plan, capture, manage, and report on work from anywhere, helping your team be more effective and get more done. Report on key metrics and get real-time visibility into work as it happens with roll-up reports, dashboards, and automated workflows built to keep your team connected and informed.

When teams have clarity into the work getting done, there’s no telling how much more they can accomplish in the same amount of time. Try Smartsheet for free, today.

 

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