Prior to requesting a RFI - (Request for Information) or RFP - (Request for Proposal) there are four basic steps for Requirements Generation.

1. The current processing must be understood and documented. The current processing should be documented in an "As Is" fashion, i.e., outline the significant system processes to establish a baseline of the current system functionality. The goal is to understand who does what and when.

2. The desired future processing must be documented. A comparison is done to identify any gaps between the current processing and the future goal of processing. Gaps are functions, which are not currently in the future system and may require custom coding. Flowcharts may be used to show the current system and business process state as it currently exists which is used as the starting point for determining the types of requirements and processes the new system will need to accommodate.

   A business process flowchart shows how current business processes utilizing the current system work: included are specific users, departments, approvals, and system user interfaces (i.e. when users actually use the system in their process). It is the business purposes that these processes fill that will comprise the functional requirements of the new system.

3. Analyze how the business needs driving these processes will be met by the new system. Future system functions and processes are identified from the end users perspective. This task identifies processes that will be re-engineered, establishes the baseline of the future system functionality and delineates the processing steps within the future process.

4. Gaps must be resolved to enact a plan exists for fulfilling all the future processing functional requirements. In a "To Be” fashion process flowcharts show how existing business processes will be handled by the new system. It is during the design of the "To Be" business process flowcharts that organizations have the opportunity “re-engineer” business processes.