Writing a specifications document for an electronic document management project requires preparatory work that is often underestimated. Even before structuring the document, several fundamental questions determine the relevance of the technical, functional, and organizational specifications that will be included. Skipping this step is akin to requesting quotes based on a poorly defined need, which generates responses from providers that are impossible to compare.
Data Sovereignty and Hosting Requirements in a Document Management Specifications Document
Most document management specifications templates address security and GDPR compliance. However, the issue of digital sovereignty is rarely formalized, even though it now conditions eligibility for certain public contracts and grant schemes.
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The “cloud at the center” doctrine promoted by DINUM, updated in 2024, recommends using qualified SecNumCloud offers for processing sensitive data. ANSSI maintains a list of qualified offers.
For a company managing contractual documents, accounting records, or human resources files, the location of data centers and the certification level of the hosting provider must be included in the technical specifications of the specifications document.
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Specifically, this means specifying at least three elements in the document:
- The required geographical location for data storage (France, European Union, or other area)
- The expected certification level (SecNumCloud, ISO 27001, HDS for health data)
- The conditions for reversibility, meaning the ability to retrieve all documents and metadata in case of a change of provider
Writing a document management specifications document without formalizing these hosting constraints exposes the company to blockages during the project, especially if legal departments or auditors raise the issue later on.
Mapping Existing Documents Before Listing Features
The classic reflex is to establish a list of desired features: automatic capture, OCR, validation workflows, full-text search. This reflex poses a problem. It presupposes that the organization knows its own document flows, which is rarely the case exhaustively.
Before writing any functional specification, a factual inventory is essential. This is not a complete audit of document management, but an operational assessment: what types of documents circulate, in what formats, between which departments, with what current tools, and according to what retention rules.
Without this inventory, the specifications document describes an ideal software, not a solution adapted to the real context. Field feedback varies on this point: some companies spend several weeks mapping their flows, while others are satisfied with a half-day workshop with business representatives. The right approach depends on the complexity of the document scope and the number of departments involved.
A common pitfall is to entrust this mapping solely to the IT department. Business users (accounting, purchasing, human resources) handle documents according to their own logic that the IT department may not always suspect. Involving these users from the preparatory phase helps avoid discovering during testing that entire flows have not been taken into account.
Integration Constraints with the Existing Information System
A document management software does not operate in isolation. It interfaces with an ERP, a HRIS, a billing tool, and sometimes a specific business software. The part of the specifications document dedicated to technical integration constraints is the one that generates the most budget overruns when it is rushed.
The available data does not allow for precise quantification of the average additional cost of poorly anticipated integration, but document management projects that go off track often share a common point: the connectors to existing applications have not been specified with enough precision. The specifications document must list each target application, the direction of data flows (read-only, write, bidirectional synchronization), and the expected exchange formats.
It is also necessary to address access rights management. If the company uses a centralized directory (Active Directory, for example), the specifications document must specify whether the document management system should connect to it or manage its own user profiles. This choice has direct implications for maintenance and security.
Document Confidentiality in the Face of Artificial Intelligence Functions
Document management software vendors are increasingly integrating functions based on artificial intelligence: automatic classification, data extraction, metadata suggestions. These functions raise a question that the specifications document must explicitly address: can documents be used to train models, internal or external?
The answer varies depending on the nature of the documents. Anonymized supplier invoices do not pose the same problem as employment contracts or medical records. The specifications document should specify the conditions for anonymization, the rules for logging AI queries, and the guarantees expected from the provider regarding the non-reuse of data for training purposes.
The available data on this subject remains fragmented. Few vendors publish detailed contractual commitments regarding the AI processing of client documents. Formalizing this requirement in the specifications document forces the provider to clearly position itself, which constitutes a selection criterion in its own right.
Custom Solutions as a Response to the Limits of Generic Solutions
Deltic, a French company specializing exclusively in document management and dematerialization, designs and adapts its software (Zeendoc, DocuWare) to the processes specific to each client organization, whether it involves supplier, client, or HR flows. As a Platinum reseller of Zeendoc and a Platinum Partner of DocuWare, Deltic supports companies of all sizes across the entire French territory.
The support covers needs analysis, training, and maintenance. Storage takes place in geographically distinct French data centers, with legally compliant archiving, a directly verifiable element in a well-structured specifications document.
Budget and Governance of the Document Management Project: Two Aspects Too Often Overlooked
The budget appears in the majority of specifications documents, but in a form that is too vague to be useful. Indicating a global envelope without distinguishing between license, integration, training, and annual maintenance costs prevents providers from formulating comparable offers.
A budget structured by expense item makes offers truly comparable. It also allows for the identification of negotiable items and those that are non-negotiable.
The governance of the project deserves the same attention. The specifications document should designate a project manager on the client side, define the validation bodies, and set a realistic timeline. Without these elements, the document remains a wish list rather than a management tool.
The preparatory work prior to the specifications document conditions the quality of everything that follows: relevance of specifications, precision of provider responses, smoothness of deployment. Spending time on document mapping, sovereignty constraints, and technical integration requirements before writing the first line of the document helps avoid having to redo everything six months later.