<Company Name>

<Project Name>
Vision

Version <1.0>

[Note: The following template is provided for use with the Rational Unified Process. Text enclosed in square
brackets and displayed in blue italics (style=InfoBlue) is included to provide guidance to the author and should be
deleted before publishing the document. A paragraph entered following this style will automatically be set to normal
(style=Body Text).]
[To customize automatic fields in Microsoft Word (which display a gray background when selected), select
File>Properties and replace the Title, Subject and Company fields with the appropriate information for this
document. After closing the dialog, automatic fields may be updated throughout the document by selecting
Edit>Select All (or Ctrl-A) and pressing F9, or simply click on the field and press F9. This must be done separately
for Headers and Footers. Alt-F9 will toggle between displaying the field names and the field contents. See Word
help for more information on working with fields.]
<Project Name> Version: <1.0>
Vision Date: <dd/mmm/yy>
<document identifier>

Revision History
Date Version Description Author
<dd/mmm/yy> <x.x> <details> <name>

Confidential <Company Name>, 2021 Page 2

<Project Name> Version: <1.0>
Vision Date: <dd/mmm/yy>
<document identifier>

Table of Contents
1. Introduction 5
1.1 Purpose 5
1.2 Scope 5
1.3 Definitions, Acronyms, and Abbreviations 5
1.4 References 5
1.5 Overview 5

2. Positioning 5
2.1 Business Opportunity 5
2.2 Problem Statement 5
2.3 Product Position Statement 5

3. Stakeholder and User Descriptions 5

3.1 Market Demographics 5
3.2 Stakeholder Summary 5
3.3 User Summary 5
3.4 User Environment 5
3.5 Stakeholder Profiles 5
3.5.1 <Stakeholder Name> 5
3.6 User Profiles 5
3.6.1 <User Name> 5
3.7 Key Stakeholder or User Needs 5
3.8 Alternatives and Competition 5
3.8.1 <aCompetitor> 5
3.8.2 <anotherCompetitor> 5

4. Product Overview 5
4.1 Product Perspective 5
4.2 Summary of Capabilities 5
4.3 Assumptions and Dependencies 5
4.4 Cost and Pricing 5
4.5 Licensing and Installation 5

5. Product Features 5
5.1 <aFeature> 5
5.2 <anotherFeature> 5

6. Constraints 5

7. Quality Ranges 5

8. Precedence and Priority 5

9. Other Product Requirements 5

9.1 Applicable Standards 5
9.2 System Requirements 5
9.3 Performance Requirements 5

Confidential <Company Name>, 2021 Page 3

<Project Name> Version: <1.0>
Vision Date: <dd/mmm/yy>
<document identifier>

9.4 Environmental Requirements 5

10. Documentation Requirements 5

10.1 User Manual 5
10.2 Online Help 5
10.3 Installation Guides, Configuration, and Read Me File 5
10.4 Labeling and Packaging 5

A Feature Attributes 5
A.1 Status 5
A.2 Benefit 5
A.3 Effort 5
A.4 Risk 5
A.5 Stability 5
A.6 Target Release 5
A.7 Assigned To 5
A.8 Reason 5

Confidential <Company Name>, 2021 Page 4

<Project Name> Version: <1.0>
Vision Date: <dd/mmm/yy>
<document identifier>

Vision
1. Introduction
[The purpose of this document is to collect, analyze, and define high-level needs and features of the <<System
Name>>. It focuses on the capabilities needed by the stakeholders and the target users, and why these needs exist.
The details of how the <<System Name>> fulfills these needs are detailed in the use-case and supplementary
specifications.]
[The introduction of the Vision document provides an overview of the entire document. It includes the purpose,
scope, definitions, acronyms, abbreviations, references, and overview of this Vision document.]

1.1 Purpose
[Specify the purpose of this Vision document.]

1.2 Scope
[A brief description of the scope of this Vision document; what Project(s) it is associated with and anything else
that is affected or influenced by this document.]

1.3 Definitions, Acronyms, and Abbreviations

[This subsection provides the definitions of all terms, acronyms, and abbreviations required to properly interpret
the Vision document. This information may be provided by reference to the project’s Glossary.]

1.4 References
[This subsection provides a complete list of all documents referenced elsewhere in the Vision document. Identify
each document by title, report number if applicable, date, and publishing organization. Specify the sources from
which the references can be obtained. This information may be provided by reference to an appendix or to another
document.]

1.5 Overview
[This subsection describes what the rest of the Vision document contains and explains how the document is
organized.]

2. Positioning
2.1 Business Opportunity
[Briefly describe the business opportunity being met by this project.]

2.2 Problem Statement

[Provide a statement summarizing the problem being solved by this project. The following format may be used:]
The problem of [describe the problem]
affects [the stakeholders affected by the problem]
the impact of which is [what is the impact of the problem?]
a successful solution would be [list some key benefits of a successful solution]

2.3 Product Position Statement

[Provide an overall statement summarizing, at the highest level, the unique position the product intends to fill in the
marketplace. The following format may be used:]

Confidential <Company Name>, 2021 Page 5

<Project Name> Version: <1.0>
Vision Date: <dd/mmm/yy>
<document identifier>

For [target customer]

Who [statement of the need or opportunity]
The (product name) is a [product category]
That [statement of key benefit; that is, the compelling reason to buy]
Unlike [primary competitive alternative]
Our product [statement of primary differentiation]
[A product position statement communicates the intent of the application and the importance of the project to all
concerned personnel.]

3. Stakeholder and User Descriptions

[To effectively provide products and services that meet your stakeholders’ and users' real needs, it is necessary to
identify and involve all of the stakeholders as part of the Requirements Modeling process. You must also identify the
users of the system and ensure that the stakeholder community adequately represents them. This section provides a
profile of the stakeholders and users involved in the project, and the key problems that they perceive to be
addressed by the proposed solution. It does not describe their specific requests or requirements as these are
captured in a separate stakeholder requests artifact. Instead, it provides the background and justification for why
the requirements are needed.]

3.1 Market Demographics

[Summarize the key market demographics that motivate your product decisions. Describe and position target
market segments. Estimate the market’s size and growth by using the number of potential users or the amount of
money your customers spend trying to meet needs that your product or enhancement would fulfill. Review major
industry trends and technologies. Answer these strategic questions:
• What is your organization’s reputation in these markets?
• What would you like it to be?
• How does this product or service support your goals?]

3.2 Stakeholder Summary

[There are a number of stakeholders with an interest in the development and not all of them are end users. Present
a summary list of these non-user stakeholders. (The users are summarized in section 3.3.)]
Name Description Responsibilities
[Name the [Briefly describe the [Summarize the stakeholder’s key
stakeholder type.] stakeholder.] responsibilities with regard to the system
being developed; that is, their interest as a
stakeholder. For example, this stakeholder:
- ensures that the system will be
maintainable
- ensures that there will be a market demand
for the product’s features
- monitors the project’s progress
- approves funding
- and so forth]

Confidential <Company Name>, 2021 Page 6

<Project Name> Version: <1.0>
Vision Date: <dd/mmm/yy>
<document identifier>

3.3 User Summary

[Present a summary list of all identified users.]
Name Description Responsibilities Stakeholder

[Name [Briefly describe [List the user’s key responsibilities [If the user is not directly
the user what they represent with regard to the system being represented, identify which
type.] with respect to the developed; for example: stakeholder is responsible for
system.] representing the user’s
- captures details
interest.]
- produces reports
- coordinates work
- and so on]

3.4 User Environment

[Detail the working environment of the target user. Here are some suggestions:
 Number of people involved in completing the task? Is this changing?
 How long is a task cycle? Amount of time spent in each activity? Is this changing?
 Any unique environmental constraints: mobile, outdoors, in-flight, and so on?
 Which systems platforms are in use today? Future platforms?
 What other applications are in use? Does your application need to integrate with them?
This is where extracts from the Business Model could be included to outline the task and roles involved and so on.]

3.5 Stakeholder Profiles

[Describe each stakeholder in the system here by filling in the following table for each stakeholder. Remember that
stakeholder types can be as divergent as users, departments, and technical developers. A thorough profile would
cover the following topics for each type of stakeholder.]

3.5.1 <Stakeholder Name>

Representative [Who is the stakeholder representative to the project? (Optional if documented
elsewhere.) What we want here is names.]
Description [A brief description of the stakeholder type.]
Type [Qualify the stakeholder’s expertise, technical background, and degree of
sophistication—that is, guru, business, expert, casual user, and so on.]
Responsibilities [List the stakeholder’s key responsibilities with regard to the system being
developed—that is, their interest as a stakeholder.]
Success Criteria [How does the stakeholder define success?
How is the stakeholder rewarded?]
Involvement [How is the stakeholder involved in the project? Relate where possible to Rational
Unified Process roles—that is, Requirements Reviewer and so on.]
Deliverables [Are there any additional deliverables required by the stakeholder? These could be
project deliverables or outputs from the system under development.]

Confidential <Company Name>, 2021 Page 7

<Project Name> Version: <1.0>
Vision Date: <dd/mmm/yy>
<document identifier>

Comments / Issues [Problems that interfere with success and any other relevant information go here.]

3.6 User Profiles

[Describe each unique user of the system here by filling in the following table for each user type. Remember user
types can be as divergent as gurus and novices. For example, a guru might need a sophisticated, flexible tool with
cross-platform support, while a novice might need a tool that is easy to use and user-friendly. A thorough profile
needs to cover the following topics for each type of user.]

3.6.1 <User Name>

Representative [Who is the user representative to the project? (Optional if documented

elsewhere.) This often refers to the Stakeholder that represents the set of users, for
example, Stakeholder: Stakeholder1.]
Description [A brief description of the user type.]
Type [Qualify the user’s expertise, technical background, and degree of sophistication—
that is, guru, casual user, and so on.]
Responsibilities [List the user’s key responsibilities with regard to the system being developed—
that is, captures details, produces reports, coordinates work, and so forth.]
Success Criteria [How does the user define success?
How is the user rewarded?]
Involvement [How is the user involved in the project? Relate where possible to Rational Unified
Process roles—that is, Requirements Reviewer, and so on.]
Deliverables [Are there any deliverables the user produces and, if so, for whom?]
Comments / Issues [Problems that interfere with success and any other relevant information go here.
These would include trends that make the user’s job easier or harder.]

3.7 Key Stakeholder or User Needs

[List the key problems with existing solutions as perceived by the stakeholder or user. Clarify the following issues
for each problem:
• What are the reasons for this problem?
• How is it solved now?
• What solutions does the stakeholder or user want?]
[It is important to understand the relative importance the stakeholder or user places on solving each problem.
Ranking and cumulative voting techniques indicate problems that must be solved versus issues they would like
addressed.
Fill in the following table—if using Rational RequisitePro to capture the Needs, this could be an extract or report
from that tool.]
Need Priority Concerns Current Solution Proposed Solutions
Broadcast messages

Confidential <Company Name>, 2021 Page 8

<Project Name> Version: <1.0>
Vision Date: <dd/mmm/yy>
<document identifier>

3.8 Alternatives and Competition

[Identify alternatives the stakeholder perceives as available. These can include buying a competitor’s product,
building a homegrown solution or simply maintaining the status quo. List any known competitive choices that exist
or may become available. Include the major strengths and weaknesses of each competitor as perceived by the
stakeholder or end user.]

3.8.1 <aCompetitor>

3.8.2 <anotherCompetitor>

4. Product Overview
[This section provides a high level view of the product capabilities, interfaces to other applications, and system
configurations. This section usually consists of three subsections, as follows:
• Product perspective
• Product functions
• Assumptions and dependencies]

4.1 Product Perspective

[This subsection of the Vision document puts the product in perspective to other related products and the user’s
environment. If the product is independent and totally self-contained, state it here. If the product is a component of
a larger system, then this subsection needs to relate how these systems interact and needs to identify the relevant
interfaces between the systems. One easy way to display the major components of the larger system,
interconnections, and external interfaces is with a block diagram.]

4.2 Summary of Capabilities

[Summarize the major benefits and features the product will provide. For example, a Vision document for a
customer support system may use this part to address problem documentation, routing, and status reporting without
mentioning the amount of detail each of these functions requires.
Organize the functions so the list is understandable to the customer or to anyone else reading the document for the
first time. A simple table listing the key benefits and their supporting features might suffice. For example:]

Confidential <Company Name>, 2021 Page 9

<Project Name> Version: <1.0>
Vision Date: <dd/mmm/yy>
<document identifier>

Table 4-1 Customer Support System

Customer Benefit Supporting Features
New support staff can quickly get up Knowledge base assists support personnel
to speed. in quickly identifying known fixes and
workarounds.
Customer satisfaction is improved Problems are uniquely itemized, classified
because nothing falls through the and tracked throughout the resolution
cracks. process. Automatic notification occurs for
any aging issues.
Management can identify problem Trend and distribution reports allow high
areas and gauge staff workload. level review of problem status.
Distributed support teams can work Replication server allows current database
together to solve problems. information to be shared across the
enterprise.
Customers can help themselves, Knowledge base can be made available
lowering support costs and improving over the Internet. Includes hypertext
response time. search capabilities and graphical query
engine.
4.3 Assumptions and Dependencies
[List each of the factors that affect the features stated in the Vision document. List assumptions that, if changed, will
alter the Vision document. For example, an assumption may state that a specific operating system will be available
for the hardware designated for the software product. If the operating system is not available, the Vision document
will need to change.]

4.4 Cost and Pricing

[For products sold to external customers and for many in-house applications, cost and pricing issues can directly
impact the application’s definition and implementation. In this section, record any cost and pricing constraints that
are relevant. For example, distribution costs, (# of diskettes, # of CD-ROMs, CD mastering) or other cost of goods
sold constraints (manuals, packaging) may be material to the projects success, or irrelevant, depending on the
nature of the application.]

4.5 Licensing and Installation

[Licensing and installation issues can also directly impact the development effort. For example, the need to support
serializing, password security or network licensing will create additional requirements of the system that must be
considered in the development effort.
Installation requirements may also affect coding or create the need for separate installation software.]

5. Product Features
[List and briefly describe the product features. Features are the high-level capabilities of the system that are
necessary to deliver benefits to the users. Each feature is an externally desired service that typically requires a
series of inputs to achieve the desired result. For example, a feature of a problem tracking system might be the
ability to provide trending reports. As the use-case model takes shape, update the description to refer to the use
cases.
Because the Vision document is reviewed by a wide variety of involved personnel, the level of detail needs to be
general enough for everyone to understand. However, enough detail must be available to provide the team with the
information they need to create a use-case model.
To effectively manage application complexity, we recommend for any new system, or an increment to an existing
system, capabilities are abstracted to a high enough level so 25-99 features result. These features provide the

Confidential <Company Name>, 2021 Page 10

<Project Name> Version: <1.0>
Vision Date: <dd/mmm/yy>
<document identifier>

fundamental basis for product definition, scope management, and project management. Each feature will be
expanded in greater detail in the use-case model.
Throughout this section, each feature will be externally perceivable by users, operators or other external systems.
These features need to include a description of functionality and any relevant usability issues that must be
addressed. The following guidelines apply:
• Avoid design. Keep feature descriptions at a general level. Focus on capabilities needed and why (not how)
they should be implemented.
• If you are using the Rational RequisitePro toolkit, all need to be selected as requirements of type for easy
reference and tracking.]

5.1 <aFeature>

5.2 <anotherFeature>

6. Constraints
[Note any design constraints, external constraints or other dependencies.]

7. Quality Ranges
[Define the quality ranges for performance, robustness, fault tolerance, usability, and similar characteristics that
are not captured in the Feature Set.]

8. Precedence and Priority

[Define the priority of the different system features.]

9. Other Product Requirements

[At a high level, list applicable standards, hardware or platform requirements, performance requirements, and
environmental requirements.]

9.1 Applicable Standards

[List all standards with which the product must comply. These can include legal and regulatory (FDA, UCC)
communications standards (TCP/IP, ISDN), platform compliance standards (Windows, UNIX, and so on), and
quality and safety standards (UL, ISO, CMM).]

9.2 System Requirements

[Define any system requirements necessary to support the application. These can include the supported host
operating systems and network platforms, configurations, memory, peripherals, and companion software.]

9.3 Performance Requirements

[Use this section to detail performance requirements. Performance issues can include such items as user load
factors, bandwidth or communication capacity, throughput, accuracy, and reliability or response times under a
variety of loading conditions.]

9.4 Environmental Requirements

[Detail environmental requirements as needed. For hardware- based systems, environmental issues can include
temperature, shock, humidity, radiation, and so forth. For software applications, environmental factors can include
usage conditions, user environment, resource availability, maintenance issues, and error handling and recovery.]

Confidential <Company Name>, 2021 Page 11

<Project Name> Version: <1.0>
Vision Date: <dd/mmm/yy>
<document identifier>

10. Documentation Requirements

[This section describes the documentation that must be developed to support successful application deployment.]

10.1 User Manual

[Describe the purpose and contents of the User Manual. Discuss desired length, level of detail, need for index,
glossary of terms, tutorial versus reference manual strategy, and so on. Formatting and printing constraints must
also be identified.]

10.2 Online Help

[Many applications provide an online help system to assist the user. The nature of these systems is unique to
application development as they combine aspects of programming (hyperlinks, and so forth) with aspects of
technical writing, such as organization and presentation. Many have found the development of an online help
system is a project within a project that benefits from up-front scope management and planning activity.]

10.3 Installation Guides, Configuration, and Read Me File

[A document that includes installation instructions and configuration guidelines is important to a full solution
offering. Also, a Read Me file is typically included as a standard component. The Read Me file can include a
"What's New With This Release” section, and a discussion of compatibility issues with earlier releases. Most users
also appreciate documentation defining any known bugs and workarounds in the Read Me file.]

10.4 Labeling and Packaging

[Today's state-of-the-art applications provide a consistent look and feel that begins with product packaging and
manifests through installation menus, splash screens, help systems, GUI dialogs, and so on. This section defines the
needs and types of labeling to be incorporated into the code. Examples include copyright and patent notices,
corporate logos, standardized icons and other graphic elements, and so forth.]

A Feature Attributes
[Features are given attributes that can be used to evaluate, track, prioritize, and manage the product items
proposed for implementation. All requirement types and attributes need to be outlined in the Requirements
Management Plan, however, you may wish to list and briefly describe the attributes for features that have been
chosen. The following subsections represent a set of suggested feature attributes.]

A.1 Status
[Set after negotiation and review by the project management team. Tracks progress during definition of the project
baseline.]
Proposed [Used to describe features that are under discussion but have not yet
been reviewed and accepted by the "official channel," such as a
working group consisting of representatives from the project team,
product management, and user or customer community.]
Approved [Capabilities that are deemed useful and feasible, and have been
approved for implementation by the official channel.]
Incorporated [Features incorporated into the product baseline at a specific point
in time.]

A.2 Benefit
[Set by Marketing, the product manager or the business analyst. All requirements are not created equal. Ranking
requirements by their relative benefit to the end user opens a dialog with customers, analysts, and members of the
development team. Used in managing scope and determining development priority.]

Confidential <Company Name>, 2021 Page 12

<Project Name> Version: <1.0>
Vision Date: <dd/mmm/yy>
<document identifier>

Critical [Essential features. Failure to implement means the system will not meet
customer needs. All critical features must be implemented in the release
or the schedule will slip.]
Important [Features important to the effectiveness and efficiency of the system for
most applications. The functionality cannot be easily provided in some
other way. Lack of inclusion of an important feature may affect
customer or user satisfaction, or even revenue, but release will not be
delayed due to lack of any important feature.]
Useful [Features that are useful in less typical applications will be used less
frequently or for which reasonably efficient workarounds can be
achieved. No significant revenue or customer satisfaction impact can be
expected if such an item is not included in a release.]

A.3 Effort
[Set by the development team. Because some features require more time and resources than others, estimating the
number of team or person-weeks, lines of code required or function points, for example, is the best way to gauge
complexity and set expectations of what can and cannot be accomplished in a given time frame. Used in managing
scope and determining development priority.]

A.4 Risk
[Set by development team based on the probability the project will experience undesirable events, such as cost
overruns, schedule delays or even cancellation. Most project managers find categorizing risks, as high, medium,
and low, is sufficient, although finer gradations are possible. Risk can often be indirectly assessed by measuring the
uncertainty (range) of the projects team’s schedule estimate.]

A.5 Stability
[Set by the analyst and development team, this is based on the probability that features will change or the team’s
understanding of the feature will change. Used to help establish development priorities and determine those items
for which additional elicitation is the appropriate next action.]

A.6 Target Release

[Records the intended product version in which the feature will first appear. This field can be used to allocate
features from a Vision document into a particular baseline release. When combined with the status field, your team
can propose, record, and discuss various features of the release without committing them to development. Only
features whose Status is set to Incorporated and whose Target Release is defined will be implemented. When scope
management occurs, the Target Release Version Number can be increased so the item will remain in the Vision
document but will be scheduled for a later release.]

A.7 Assigned To
[In many projects, features will be assigned to "feature teams" responsible for further elicitation, writing the
software requirements, and implementation. This simple pull-down list will help everyone on the project team to
understand responsibilities better.]

Confidential <Company Name>, 2021 Page 13

<Project Name> Version: <1.0>
Vision Date: <dd/mmm/yy>
<document identifier>

A.8 Reason
[This text field is used to track the source of the requested feature. Requirements exist for specific reasons. This field
records an explanation or a reference to an explanation. For example, the reference might be to a page and line
number of a product requirement specification or to a minute marker on a video of an important customer review.]

Confidential <Company Name>, 2021 Page 14