What should I define before building custom software?

Before commissioning custom software, define a real user problem and the smallest complete workflow that solves it. An MVP should be limited in scope, not unreliable in essential behaviour. A long feature list without acceptance criteria makes cost and progress hard to judge.

Map the current process

Write who starts the task, which information they need, where data is stored and what marks completion. Include exceptions and existing manual work. Interview the people doing the job rather than assuming a dashboard is the answer. Identify whether a simpler configuration of an existing tool could solve the problem.

Prepare a discovery brief

1. Describe one primary user and their end-to-end task.
2. List essential inputs, outputs and external systems.
3. State roles, permissions, personal-data needs and retention.
4. Define a small release boundary and explicitly deferred features.
5. Write acceptance examples, including errors, duplicate input and unavailable integrations.
6. Agree ownership of source code, accounts, deployment, backups and support.

An illustrative MVP boundary

For an enquiry workflow, a complete first release might accept validated input, store it once, send an accurate acknowledgement and let an authorised staff member review it. Automatic quoting, document generation and payment could remain later phases. Calling a button-click success while storage failed would not meet the acceptance condition.

How should AI fit the brief?

Use AI only where the task and evaluation justify it. Drafting a summary and authorising a purchase have different consequences. Keep deterministic validation, permissions and audit records around model output. Use synthetic cases to evaluate usefulness and failure modes before handling real customer data.

What makes a proposal reviewable?

Ask for workflow diagrams, a data outline, dependencies, staged deliverables, test evidence and an exit plan if the provider changes. Separate a clickable preview from a production system. Link the software brief to the business launch roadmap and the integration checklist so branding, website and operations describe the same business.