• [Bulleted lists and bracketed text are descriptive, and should not appear in final documents.]
• Assume your proposal will be one of many reviewed by potential investors. It should be accurate, concise, and self-contained. Don’t assume the reader is familiar with you or your product.
• The proposal should be well organized, clearly written, and flow smoothly from one item to the next. The style and information should be consistent, even if different people write different parts.
• Use graphics (charts, diagrams, etc) where they can be more effective than text (“a picture is worth a thousand words”). Do not use cutesy or unnecessary pictures.
• Include or attach tables or spreadsheets for lists and comparisons.

Product Proposal for [Concept]

1. Executive Summary

• Write the summary last, not first, and rewrite it after each proposal revision.
• Summarize all key ideas from the proposal in less than one page.
• Describe the product in the first paragraph.
• Do not use graphics, tables, etc.

2. Overview

2.1. Introduction

• Describe the product, its key features and functionality.

2.2. Abbreviations and Definitions

• List and define all abbreviations and non-standard terms used.

2.3. Background

• Describe any background required to understand the product or its importance, including market or technology trends.

3. Market Analysis

3.1. Needs Analysis

• Describe who needs the product, and why.
• For each market of interest, describe key characteristics, including size.
• Summarize the customer’s total cost. Include hardware unless you are assuming that your customers already own the necessary hardware.

3.2. Competitive Analysis

• Describe competing products, and their relative strengths & weaknesses.
• Include or attach a table to summarize key characteristics;
  in the template below, replace “competitor 1” etc with specific competitors or alternatives and “feature 1”, etc with specific features.
• Use text (or subsections) for details not easily captured in the table.

4. Requirements

4.1. Actors & Use Cases

• Describe the general categories of people who will use the product.
• Describe any external systems that will interact with the product.
• For each actor, describe why and how they interact with the product.
• For each actor, describe any special characteristics or background.
• Include or attach a table to summarize which actors perform which use cases, especially if there is overlap;
  in the template below, replace “actor 1”, etc. with specific actors, and “use case 1” etc. with specific use cases.

4.2. Requirements

• Include or attach a table (or a full spreadsheet) to list and describe key requirements, such as:
  • hardware or software (platform dependencies)
  • performance
  • networking
  • concurrency
  • data storage
  • internationalization (multiple languages, currencies, time zones)
  • error handling & security
  • testing & documentation
  • installation

4.3. Deliverables

• List and describe items that must be completed in order to complete this product, such as:
  • hardware components
  • software components
  • packaging & documentation
  • licenses, user names, passwords

5. Design

5.1. User Interfaces

• Describe the user interface(s).
• Include or attach sketches or mockups of GUI screens where applicable.

5.2. Design Diagrams

• Describe the key elements and relationships.
• Describe any complex interactions among actors and product components (interaction diagrams).
• Describe the logical and physical architecture (deployment diagrams).
• Include or attach diagrams where applicable.

5.3. Other

• Describe any other design issues, such as:
  • significant challenges or risks
  • 3rd party components you will use (commercial, open source, etc)
  • potential patents

6. Project Plan

6.1. Team and Organization

• Describe each member of your team and their roles and responsibilities.
• Describe any missing skills you will need to make this product successful.
• Describe how your team is organized.

6.2. Estimates & Schedule

• Describe the expected project schedule.
• Include or attach applicable tables or planning diagrams, such as:
  • work breakdown schedules (WBS)
  • PERT/CPM networks, Gantt charts, etc. (if applicable)

6.3. Resource & Budget Requirements

• List and describe any needed resources (equipment, facilities, services, etc).
• List all costs required to build and deploy the product, including:
  • Supporting hardware and software that must be purchased
  • Effort by developers, testers, writers, etc
  • Sales and marketing
• List expected revenue sources and projected revenue.
• Describe your expected profit margin.
• Include or attach applicable tables or spreadsheets.

6.4. Risks

• List and describe risks that could affect features, schedule, or cost.
• For each, estimate probability and impact, and describe possible responses.
• Include or attach applicable tables or spreadsheets.

7. References

• List citations for any published material (including books, articles, product documentation, and web pages) used when preparing the proposal, whether or not they are quoted or cited elsewhere in the proposal.