Free tool

Software Requirements Builder for Schools

Turn vague intentions into clear, measurable, tender-ready requirements for the school software your school or district is buying. Vendor-neutral, and your document stays in your browser.

Juho Isola, Smootables founder

How to use this Software Requirements Builder for Schools?

  • Say what you are buying and who it is for, then list your needs in plain language.
  • The assistant flags vague or solution-shaped statements and rewrites them as measurable requirements you can accept or edit.
  • Prioritise with MoSCoW, check the gap and stakeholder-coverage prompts, and review the evaluation matrix.
  • Export a requirements-and-scoring spreadsheet, a printable tender document, and a shareable draft file.

Your document stays in this browser. When you ask the assistant for help, the text on that step is sent for processing and is not stored by Smootables.

Why most school software specs go wrong before a vendor is involved

The expensive mistakes in public software procurement happen before any supplier sees the tender. Most of them come from confusing an assumed solution with the actual need. "Must be cloud-based" is a solution; the need is usually "remote access with low maintenance". A spec built from solutions, or copied from one product's brochure, produces bids you cannot compare and a purchase you cannot defend.

This tool separates needs from solutions, forces every requirement to be measurable, and prioritises them. It is a discovery assistant, not an RFP generator. It never names a product, never scores a vendor, and never steers you toward any supplier, including Smootables. The output is your own work product.

From "must be user-friendly" to something a supplier can prove

A buyer writes "the system must be modern and user-friendly". A supplier cannot prove that, and two vendors will both claim it, so it cannot decide a bid. The assistant marks it as vague and proposes a measurable rewrite: "a new office administrator can record a full day of attendance without training in under 15 minutes", with an acceptance test the supplier demonstrates during evaluation.

Another buyer writes "must integrate with our student register". That is a real boundary, so it passes, and it is tagged to the office and data-management staff. By the end you have a set of requirements that read the same way to every bidder, each tied to the people it serves.

What is free, and where the limits are

The builder is free. The wizard, the requirements table, MoSCoW prioritisation, the gap checklist, the stakeholder-coverage check, the evaluation matrix, and every export run in your browser and keep working even if the assistant is unavailable.

The assistant steps (challenging your needs, drafting requirements, writing the tender document, and scoring quality) call an AI model. Those have a generous daily ceiling per browser to keep the tool free for everyone. If you reach it, your document is safe: export it and continue tomorrow, or open your saved draft on another day.

Frequently asked questions

Does this recommend a product or mention Smootables?
No. The tool is vendor-neutral by design. It never names or scores a product, including Smootables. The requirements you produce are your own work, written the same way for every category.
Where is my document stored?
In your browser. Smootables stores nothing. When you use an assistant step, the text on that step is sent for processing and is not saved. To keep or move your work, use the save-draft export and open it later.
What happens if the assistant is unavailable?
The wizard, requirements table, prioritisation, gap checks, evaluation matrix, and every export keep working. Only the assistant steps pause, with a notice, and your document stays intact.
Is the spreadsheet ready to evaluate bids?
Yes. Each requirement is one row with its ID, statement, stakeholders, MoSCoW priority, weight, and acceptance test, plus empty columns for each supplier's response and evidence. It is the specification and the scoring sheet in one file.
Does timetabling get special treatment?
No. Timetabling is handled exactly like every other category, from your own answers. That keeps the tool visibly neutral and keeps the output yours.

Planning a school timetabling purchase?

This builder stays neutral across every category. When you are ready to compare how a modern timetabling platform fits your requirements, see how Smootables approaches school scheduling.

See how Smootables fits your school

Book a walkthrough and we will map Smootables to your planning, workload, and timetabling process.