Key points
- Describe complete scenarios from the starting event to the visible result.
- Give every essential requirement an evidence request and a business reviewer.
- Record PMS, device and access dependencies before comparing proposals.
Start with decisions people need to make
Bring together an executive housekeeper, a front desk representative, maintenance and the IT owner. Ask each person which decision is difficult on a busy day. “Know which room to inspect next” is more useful than “have a modern interface”. Record the current situation, the risk of an error and the person who actually uses the information.
Keep a focused set of priority workflows. A feature without a user, a trigger and an operational consequence is not yet a requirement. It can stay on an ideas list, but it should not receive the same weight as a condition needed to release a room for arrival.
Give each requirement a consistent structure
Use five fields: starting context, action, expected result, evidence and approving role. For example, an assigned room changes priority; the supervisor changes that priority; the room attendant can identify the change on their working device; a demonstration using both roles supplies the evidence. State what should remain unchanged, including the assignment or the task history.
Avoid acceptance criteria such as “fast”, “intuitive” or “fully integrated”. Replace them with an observation agreed with the team. A timing requirement needs a defined starting event, a defined end point and stated connectivity conditions. The hotel should choose the acceptable value according to its operation, rather than borrowing an unsupported universal target.
Use this starter requirements grid
| Requirement | Proposed acceptance criterion | Class / reviewer |
|---|---|---|
| Changed departure | The intended workflow distinguishes planned departure from confirmed departure. | Essential / front desk |
| Reassignment | The new assignee finds the task; the previous assignee no longer owns it. | Essential / housekeeping |
| Blocked room | Authorised roles can see the operational reason and identify the release decision. | Essential / operations |
| Permissions | A test role sees only the agreed scope. | Essential / IT |
| Export | A sample contains the fields and formats needed for retrieval. | Optional or essential / management |
| Devices | The workflow works on the selected devices and connections. | Deployment condition / IT |
This grid describes purchasing requirements. It does not promise capabilities in RoomChecking or any other product. Add a supplier response column distinguishing included capability, configuration required, proposed development and unsupported need.
Separate PMS dependencies from the headline feature
Write down the PMS name and version, the information involved, the direction of each exchange and the system authorised to change each field. For each requirement, ask how an update is triggered: a user action, a scheduled request or an event sent by the source system. Specify the expected result and the evidence needed to check it. An answer consisting only of the word “API” leaves those questions open.
Ask who configures the connection, who handles faults and what must be ready before testing starts. A listed integration does not demonstrate support for all your statuses or every required field. Keep unproven answers open, with an owner and a clear statement of the next evidence required. This prevents a broad commercial answer from concealing a narrow operational gap.
Whether evaluating a native PMS module or a connected application, apply the same tests to functional scope, update latency, error handling and the ability to retrieve data when changing solutions.
Prioritise without making every preference a blocker
In a fictional example, a hotel requests a floor view and an export for head office. The floor view supports daily assignments, so it becomes essential if no equivalent workflow is acceptable. The export remains optional when head office can temporarily accept another format. The same feature can consequently have a different priority in another property.
Agree these categories before reviewing commercial proposals. A deployment condition, such as having compatible devices, is not automatically a product weakness. It still needs an owner and a budget. Record each trade-off so that the selection rules do not change silently when a particularly attractive demonstration is presented.
Finish with an evidence-ready document
Have the people who will run the tests review the acceptance criteria. Send suppliers a dated version, a fictional data set and a list of disqualifying gaps. Ask them to identify the offer and configuration being evaluated and to attach their evidence to individual requirement references.
The document is ready when essential requirements are observable, options do not conceal operating conditions and every dependency has a contact. A positive sales response does not close a requirement. The corresponding evidence must still be obtained through a demonstration or acceptance test, with any limitations recorded alongside the result.
The requirements document can then support the approach to digitising housekeeping operations.
Frequently asked questions
How many requirements should the hotel include?
The number depends on its workflows. Start with situations that could delay an arrival, create duplicate assignments or expose unnecessary information. Add a requirement when it leads to a distinct decision or test, rather than to make the document appear more comprehensive.
Should the document enforce the current workflow?
Describe the required outcome and real constraints. A supplier may offer a different acceptable workflow. Have the affected users approve that change, and identify the extra actions or responsibilities it introduces before treating it as an equivalent solution.
