Create a New Requirement

Requirements Management is the process of creating, reviewing, and executing a requirement package for goods and services needed to conduct business.

The Appian Requirements Management (RM) solution provides a guided experience for collecting and maintaining requirement information about the goods and services needed to be purchased and delivered.

Enabled by Appian's powerful records, after a requirement is created, end users can view and update this information from simple, informative record interfaces.

Creating a new requirement initiates the data collection process. RM provides three paths for creating a requirement:

• AI-assisted creation: Enter a natural language description, and RM uses AI to pre-populate the requirement intake form.
• Manual creation: Enter requirement data directly using a guided wizard.
• From a forecast: Initiate a requirement from an existing forecast, with forecast data pre-populated into the form.

Prerequisites for creating requirements

• Security group membership: The Requestor and Requestor Manager roles have access to create requirements by default.
• AI-Assisted Requirement Creation toggle: For AI-assisted creation, an administrator must enable the AI-Assisted Requirement Creation toggle. If the toggle is disabled, the AI-assisted creation path is not visible.

Create requirements with AI

1. On the navigation pane, go to Requirements > Plus iconCREATE REQUIREMENT.
2. Describe the requirement details using natural language in the Description field.

   Tip:  Expand Key Information to Include to view the recommended details for the requirement.

3. Click NEXT.
4. Review the auto-populated fields and complete any missing fields in the following subtabs:
   • Requirement Setup
   • DoDAAC & POC (Department of Defense Activity Address Code and Point of Contact)
   • Codes
   • Funding
   • Addresses
   • Additional Information

     Tip:  Click Refine Inputs to modify the description for better AI results.

5. Confirm and create the requirement.

Create requirements manually

1. On the navigation pane, go to Requirements > Plus iconCREATE REQUIREMENT.

2. Click use the standard form.

   The Create Requirement wizard has the following tabs on the navigation pane to be filled for creating the requirement:

   1. Requirement Setup
   2. DoDAAC & POC
   3. Codes
   4. Funding
   5. Addresses
   6. Additional Information

Enter requirement details

1. On the Requirement Setup tab, enter a Title for the requirement.
2. Enter a Description of the requirement.
3. Select the Type to indicate whether the requirement is new or for an award modification.
4. Select the Category to determine which key dates are required and must be entered for this requirement.
   • Note: The requirement categories can be modified to reflect the organization. Out-of-the-box values are Facilities, IT Hardware, IT Services, IT Software, Telecom, and Other. See Modifying Dropdowns for information on how to update the Category values.
5. Select the Priority to communicate the importance of the goods or services to your organization.
   • Note: The priorities can be modified to reflect the organization. See Modifying Dropdowns for information on how to update the Priority values.

Select dates

The dates you select are based on the requirement's category.

For goods and other non-service items, organizations need to define the expected delivery definition. Choose any one of the following options:

• Date or Dates: To schedule a delivery for a specific date.
• Lead Time: To indicate a time frame after a specific event in which you need the goods. For example, after the award date, you need the item within two months.

For service categories, organizations need to define the period of performance (POP) needed for the services they are buying. For example, consulting services are needed from a specific company for one year.

To add dates for categories related to goods and other non-services items such as Facilities and IT Hardware:

1. Select a Requested Award Date using the calendar.
2. Select a Delivery Type for the goods or other non-services you are buying.
   • Note: Out-of-the-box, the values are Date or Dates and Lead Time. See Modifying Dropdowns for information on how to update the Delivery Type values.

   • If you select Date or Dates, then choose Delivery Description and the respective date.

     

     • Note: The delivery descriptions can be modified to reflect the organization. See Modify Dropdowns for information on how to update the Delivery Description values.

   • If you select Lead Time, choose Lead Time Event, Lead Time Description, Duration, and Duration Unit.

     

     • Note: The lead time events, lead time descriptions, and duration units are determined by your organization. See Modify Dropdowns for information on how to update the Lead Time Event, Lead Time Description, and Duration Unit values.

To add dates for categories related to services such as IT Services:

1. Select a Requested Award Date using the calendar.
2. Enter a POP Begin date to define the Period of Performance (POP) start date for the services you purchase.
3. Enter a POP End date to define the Period of Performance (POP) end date for the services you purchase.

Add NIGP codes

NIGP codes (National Institute of Governmental Purchasing codes) are a standardized classification system used to categorize goods and services in public procurement. These codes facilitate efficient communication, bidding, and purchasing processes for government agencies and vendors. Each code represents a specific category, making it easier to manage contracts and track procurement activities.

To add NIGP codes:

1. Click Plus icon in a circleAdd.
2. Enter the NIGP Code.
3. Enter a Description for the NIGP code.
4. Click Plus icon in a circleAdd to add more NIGP codes. A maximum of 10 NIGP codes is permitted.
5. Click X icon corresponding to a NIGP code to remove it.

Select DoDAAC and POC

1. On the DoDAAC & POC tab, search for and select a Department of Defense Activity Address Code (DoDAAC).
2. (Optional) If the auto-populated address is incorrect, edit the address fields.
3. Search for and select a Point of Contact.
4. (Optional) If the auto-populated contact information is incorrect, edit the point of contact fields.

Select requirement codes

Requirements Management uses semantic search to provide intelligent code recommendations. The PSC (Product Service Code) and NAICS (North American Industry Classification System) search fields automatically pre-fill with the requirement title, enabling you to search using natural language queries.

To select PSC and NAICS codes for a requirement:

1. Select the Codes tab.

   • Note: The search bar is pre-filled with the requirement title, and the PSC tab lists the most relevant codes based on the requirement’s title. Modify the search text if needed and then click Bold right arrow icon to search and list the related PSC codes using semantic search.
2. Select the required PSC code.
   1. Click Remove to unselect the code.

3. Click the NAICS tab to see the relevant codes based on the requirement’s title.

   

4. Select the required NAICS code.
   1. Click Remove to unselect the code.

Similar to the PSC code search, the NAICS code search provides semantic search capabilities using natural language queries.

View Configure Intelligent Requirement Codes to configure requirement codes.

Enter funding details

1. Select the Funding tab.
2. Enter an Estimated Total Contract Value. The Estimated Total Contract Value is the estimated overall value of the contract, including the base period and any potential extensions or options.
3. Enter an Estimated Base Period Value. The Estimated Base Period Value is the estimated total contract value for the base period, excluding any options or extensions.
4. Enter a Committed Award Amount. The Committed Award Amount is the total committed funds allocated for the contract.
5. Enter an Estimated Fiscal Year Amount. The Estimated Fiscal Year Amount is the estimated amount to be spent in the first fiscal year.
6. Select the Fiscal Year.

Enter requirement addresses

1. Select the Addresses tab.
2. Click Plus iconADD ADDRESS.

3. Select a Location Type to describe the location, such as Construction Site or Facility.

   • Note: The location types can be modified to reflect the organization. See Modifying Dropdowns for information on how to update these values.

4. Search for and select the DoDAAC (Department of Defense Activity Address Code) associated with the address.

   • Note: If only one address is associated with the DoDAAC, the Address Type field is auto-populated.
5. Select Address Type for the DoDAAC.
6. Search for and select the Point of Contact for the address. If the required point of contact is not found, click NEW CONTACT to create a new contact. The newly created contact appears in the search box after it is added.
7. Select a Point of Contact Type using the dropdown. Out-of-the-box values for point of contact type are Acceptor, Recipient, or Alternative Acceptor.
   • Click Plus iconADD ADDRESS to continue adding addresses to the requirement.
   • Click Trash icon to remove an address.

Enter additional information

The Additional Information tab contains questions only if they are configured by the administrator. Select the Additional Information tab to respond to the questions.

Confirm and create requirement

1. Click CREATE.

   The confirmation screen displays the requirement creation status and the AI Market Deep Dive progress, which includes three steps:

   1. Conducting Research: Searches for relevant procurement data for your requirement.
   2. Creating a Collection: Adds the top results to an editable collection.
   3. Drafting Report: Creates a first draft of the market research report.

   The Research Areas section displays the areas the AI agent is targeting.

2. (Optional) Select a research area to view more details about the research the agent is conducting.
3. (Optional) Click GO TO RESEARCH to view the AI Research Collection, or click GO TO SUMMARY to navigate to the created requirement summary.
4. Click CLOSE.

Create requirements from a forecast

You can initiate a requirement directly from a forecast record. RM pre-populates the Create Requirement wizard with mapped forecast data, reducing manual data entry. A link between the forecast and the resulting requirement is maintained automatically.

To create a requirement from a forecast:

1. On the navigation pane, click Forecasts.
2. Select a forecast with Draft or Requirement Created status.
3. Click INITIATE REQUIREMENT.
4. Review the pre-populated fields and complete any missing fields across the form tabs.
5. Click INITIATE.

For more information about creating and managing forecasts, see Forecast Requirements.

Next steps

After creating a requirement, you can:

• Manage requirements: Learn how to work with requirements after they are created.
• Manage checklists: Set up and track tasks associated with your requirements.
• Create requirement documents with AI Document Builder: Use AI Document Builder to draft professional requirement documents directly from a requirement record.

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