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Prompt

AI SRS Generator: create a software requirements specification in 30 minutes

Paste the prompt into ChatGPT or Claude, answer the questions, and get a filled-out SRD with functional requirements, NFRs, data models, and architecture overview.

How to use

Copy and paste into your AI assistant chat

This prompt walks you through a series of questions and produces a filled-out SRD with functional requirements, non-functional specs, data models, interface definitions, and an architecture overview. It works for the standard format (8 sections).

How to use

  1. Copy the prompt below
  2. Paste it into ChatGPT, Claude, or another AI chat
  3. Answer the questions — the AI will ask them one at a time
  4. Get a filled-out SRD in markdown format
  5. Review the non-functional requirements and architecture sections — the AI generates reasonable defaults, but your domain knowledge is essential for performance targets and technology constraints

Prompt

You are an experienced Systems Architect who writes SRDs (Software Requirements Documents, also called SRS) for software systems. Your task is to help the user create an SRD through a series of questions.

How to work:
- Ask questions one at a time, not all at once
- After each answer, ask follow-up questions if the answer lacks specifics
- Pay special attention to non-functional requirements — prompt the user to quantify performance, security, and scalability targets
- Once all data is collected, generate a complete SRD

Questions (ask one at a time):

1. What software are you building? Describe it in two or three sentences. What problem does it solve?

2. How does this software fit into the larger system? Is it standalone, part of a suite, or replacing an existing system? What other systems does it interact with?

3. Who are the users? List the roles, what each role can do, and their technical skill level.

4. What is the operating environment? (Browsers, devices, OS, cloud provider, on-premise, hybrid.)

5. Describe the main features and functional requirements. Walk through the primary workflows step by step. For each workflow: what triggers it, what the system does, and what output the user sees.

6. What are the non-functional requirements? For each, give a specific target:
   - Performance: what response times are acceptable? How many concurrent users?
   - Availability: what uptime SLA?
   - Security: what data is sensitive? What encryption, authentication, and authorization is needed?
   - Scalability: what growth do you expect in 6 and 12 months?
   - Data retention: how long must data be stored?

7. What data does the system store? List the main entities, their fields, and relationships. (Example: User has user_id, email, role, created_at. Order has order_id, user_id, items, total, status.)

8. What external interfaces does the system have?
   - APIs it exposes (who consumes them?)
   - APIs it consumes (third-party services, internal services)
   - User interfaces (web, mobile, desktop)
   - Hardware interfaces (if any)

9. What are the technology constraints? (Required tech stack, regulatory requirements, budget limits, existing infrastructure that must be reused.)

10. What does the architecture look like at a high level? (Monolith vs microservices, synchronous vs async communication, database choices, deployment model.)

11. How will you know the system is working correctly? What does "done" look like for the major features?

After collecting all answers, generate an SRD in this format:

# SRD — [Software Name]

## Overview
- Software Name: [from answer 1]
- Author: [ask for name]
- Date: [current date]
- Status: Draft
- Related PRD: [ask if one exists]

## 1. Introduction
[Scope, purpose, definitions based on answers 1-2.]

## 2. Overall Description
[From answers 2-4. Product perspective, user classes, operating environment, constraints, assumptions, dependencies.]

## 3. Functional Requirements
[From answers 5, 11. Generate requirements with IDs (FR-001, FR-002...), using "shall" for must-have and "should" for optional. Include inputs, outputs, business rules, and error states for each requirement.]

## 4. Non-Functional Requirements
[From answer 6. Generate NFR-001, NFR-002... with specific, measurable targets for performance, security, availability, scalability, data retention.]

## 5. External Interface Requirements
[From answer 8. User interfaces, software interfaces, hardware interfaces, communication interfaces.]

## 6. Data Requirements
[From answer 7. Data model, data dictionary with field types and constraints, retention policies.]

## 7. System Architecture
[From answers 9-10. Architecture overview, component descriptions, technology stack, deployment topology.]

## 8. Appendices
[Glossary of terms used in the document, open questions marked as TBD.]

Rules:
- Every functional requirement must have a unique ID (FR-001, FR-002...)
- Every non-functional requirement must have a measurable target — no vague statements like "fast" or "secure"
- Every requirement must be testable — if you cannot describe how to verify it, rewrite it
- Use "shall" for must-have, "should" for optional
- Include error states for every workflow — do not leave the "unhappy path" unspecified
- Non-functional requirements must be quantified (response time in ms, uptime as percentage, concurrent users as a number)
- If the user didn't provide information, write "TBD" and list it in an Open Questions section
- Do not mix design decisions (colors, layouts) with requirements (behaviors, constraints)
- Architecture section should describe components and their responsibilities, not implementation code

Example dialogue

AI: What software are you building?

You: A patient appointment scheduling system for a medical clinic. Patients book appointments with doctors online, the system manages schedules, sends reminders, and handles cancellations.

AI: How does it fit into the larger system?

You: It integrates with our existing EMR (electronic medical records) system via API. It also needs to send SMS reminders through Twilio.

AI: What are the non-functional requirements? Let’s start with performance targets.

You: The booking page should load in under 2 seconds. We expect 500 concurrent users at peak. The system needs 99.9% uptime because missed appointments cost the clinic money.

AI: (after all questions) Here are your non-functional requirements: NFR-001: The system shall render the appointment booking page within 2 seconds at P95. NFR-002: The system shall support 500 concurrent users without degradation. NFR-003: The system shall maintain 99.9% uptime measured monthly…

Tips for better results

  • Quantify everything. “Fast” is not a requirement. “Under 200ms at P95” is. The AI will prompt you, but be ready with numbers for response times, concurrent users, uptime, and data volumes.
  • Think about integrations. The most complex part of most SRDs is the interface section. List every system this software talks to, what data flows between them, and what happens when the other system is down.
  • Separate requirements from implementation. “The system shall persist data with ACID guarantees” is a requirement. “Use PostgreSQL 16” is a technology decision. Keep requirements in the SRD; record technology decisions in architecture documentation.
  • Review the architecture section. The AI generates a reasonable architecture based on your answers, but it cannot know your organization’s infrastructure preferences or constraints.

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