BRD
BRD-ECOM-2025-001
E-Commerce Platform
Business Requirements Document
Full-Stack Online Retail Solution · Multi-Vendor · End-to-End Order Management
§1
Document Control
Revision History
| Version | Date | Author | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.0 | June 2025 | Manmathnath Mahanta | Initial Draft |
| 1.0 Final | June 2025 | Manmathnath Mahanta | Final Version — Approved for Baseline |
Distribution List
| Stakeholder | Role | Department |
|---|---|---|
| Project Sponsor | Decision Maker | Executive Management |
| Business Analyst | Requirements Author | Business Analysis |
| Development Team | Technical Implementation | Engineering |
| QA Team | Testing & Validation | Quality Assurance |
| UX/UI Designer | Prototyping & Design | Product Design |
§2
Executive Summary
Project Overview
Project Name
E-Commerce Platform — Full-Stack Online Retail Solution
Business Problem
Retailers face significant challenges competing without a robust digital presence. Manual order management, fragmented inventory tracking, and poor mobile experience lead to revenue leakage and low customer retention.
Proposed Solution
Web-based, mobile-responsive e-commerce platform with a customer storefront, multi-payment gateway, vendor portal, admin dashboard with analytics, and a real-time notification engine.
In Scope
Customer registration · Product catalog & search · Cart & checkout · Payment gateway integration · Order management · Vendor onboarding portal · Admin panel · Email/SMS notifications · SEO optimization
Out of Scope
Logistics/delivery integration (Phase 2) · Native iOS/Android apps (Phase 2) · AI recommendation engine (Phase 3) · Multi-language support (Phase 2)
§3
Stakeholder Analysis
Stakeholder Register
| Stakeholder | Role | Key Interest | Influence | Engagement |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Project Sponsor | Executive | ROI, brand growth | High | Consult |
| Business Analyst | BA | Requirements accuracy | High | Lead |
| End Customers | Primary Users | Shopping experience | High | Inform |
| Vendors / Sellers | Secondary Users | Sales & operations | Medium | Consult |
| Development Team | Technical | Clear specs, feasibility | High | Collaborate |
| QA Team | Quality | Defect-free delivery | Medium | Collaborate |
| Marketing Team | Business | Promotions, SEO | Medium | Consult |
| Finance Team | Business | Payment accuracy | Medium | Inform |
RACI Matrix
| Activity | BA | Dev | QA | Sponsor | UX |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Requirements Elicitation | R/A | C | I | C | I |
| BRD Sign-off | R | I | I | A | I |
| UI/UX Design | C | C | I | I | R/A |
| Development | C | R/A | I | I | C |
| Testing & UAT | C | R | R/A | I | I |
| Go-Live Approval | C | C | C | A | I |
R = Responsible · A = Accountable · C = Consulted · I = Informed
§4
Business Requirements
4.1 — Customer Management
BR-CM-001
System shall allow customers to register using email or social login (Google, Facebook).
BR-CM-002
System shall support secure login with OTP-based two-factor authentication.
BR-CM-003
Customers shall manage their profile, saved addresses, and payment methods from the account dashboard.
BR-CM-004
System shall maintain a purchase history accessible from the customer dashboard with order status and invoice links.
BR-CM-005
Customers shall receive email and SMS confirmation for all account-related activities including registration, login, and password changes.
4.2 — Product Catalog Management
BR-PC-001
System shall support hierarchical product categories and sub-categories with unlimited nesting depth.
BR-PC-002
Each product listing shall support: title, description (rich text), up to 8 images, price, SKU, stock quantity, and weight/dimension fields.
BR-PC-003
Customers shall search products by keyword, category, brand, price range, and rating — with real-time filter application.
BR-PC-004
Product pages shall display average star rating, total review count, and seller information with trust indicators.
BR-PC-005
System shall support product variants (size, colour, weight) where each variant can have individual pricing and stock quantity.
BR-PC-006
Out-of-stock products shall display a clear status indicator and a "Notify Me" option allowing customers to subscribe for restock alerts.
4.3 — Shopping Cart & Checkout
BR-SC-001
Customers shall add, update quantity, and remove items from the cart. Real-time price recalculation shall occur on each cart change.
BR-SC-002
Cart contents shall persist across browser sessions for logged-in users and be synced across devices.
BR-SC-003
System shall validate and apply discount codes and promotional offers at checkout with real-time total recalculation.
BR-SC-004
Checkout shall support guest checkout allowing order completion without mandatory account creation to reduce friction.
BR-SC-005
System shall display an itemized order summary including product subtotal, applicable taxes, shipping charges, and discount applied — before final payment confirmation.
4.4 — Payment Processing
BR-PAY-001
System shall integrate with a minimum of two payment gateways (e.g., Razorpay, PayU) to ensure redundancy and avoid single points of failure.
BR-PAY-002
System shall support payment via credit card, debit card, UPI, net banking, and digital wallets (Paytm, Amazon Pay, etc.).
BR-PAY-003
All payment transactions shall be encrypted using SSL/TLS protocols. No card data shall be stored on the platform's own servers.
BR-PAY-004
System shall auto-generate and email a detailed GST-compliant invoice to the customer upon successful payment.
BR-PAY-005
System shall support full and partial refunds for returned or cancelled orders, with refund credited to the original payment method or store wallet.
4.5 — Order Management
BR-OM-001
System shall assign a unique, human-readable Order ID to every placed order, used for all tracking, support, and communication.
BR-OM-002
Customers shall track their order status in real-time from placement through packing, dispatch, and delivery — with timestamp at each stage.
BR-OM-003
System shall support order cancellation within a configurable window (default: before dispatch). Cancellations shall trigger automatic refund initiation.
BR-OM-004
System shall manage a return and refund workflow with defined SLA timelines: pickup within 2 days, inspection within 3 days, refund within 5 days.
BR-OM-005
Admin and relevant vendors shall receive instant push and email notifications for each new order placed on the platform.
4.6 — Vendor Portal
BR-VP-001
Vendors shall register via a dedicated onboarding form, submit KYC documents (GST, PAN, bank details), and await admin verification before activation.
BR-VP-002
Vendors shall have a seller dashboard to create, edit, activate, and deactivate product listings with bulk upload support via CSV.
BR-VP-003
Vendors shall view orders for their products and update fulfilment status (Confirmed, Packed, Dispatched) with tracking information.
BR-VP-004
System shall provide vendors with a sales summary, payout report, and pending settlement view within their dashboard.
BR-VP-005
Vendors shall configure their own shipping rates, delivery zones, and estimated delivery timelines per product category.
4.7 — Admin Panel
BR-ADM-001
Admin shall have role-based access to manage users, vendors, product catalog, orders, returns, and platform configuration from a unified dashboard.
BR-ADM-002
Admin shall review KYC documents and approve or reject vendor registrations, with automated email notification to vendors on each decision.
BR-ADM-003
System shall provide admin with real-time analytics dashboards covering: GMV, daily orders, top products, vendor performance, and traffic sources.
BR-ADM-004
Admin shall create and manage promotional campaigns, discount codes, and homepage banners — with configurable start/end dates and usage limits.
BR-ADM-005
System shall auto-generate and email daily and weekly performance reports to admin with key metrics: orders, revenue, refunds, and new registrations.
§5
Non-Functional Requirements
| NFR ID | Category | Requirement | Target |
|---|---|---|---|
| NFR-001 | Performance | Product listing pages shall load within acceptable response time under normal load | < 3 seconds |
| NFR-002 | Scalability | System shall handle simultaneous user sessions without performance degradation | 10,000+ concurrent users |
| NFR-003 | Availability | Platform shall maintain high uptime with minimal planned maintenance windows | 99.9% monthly SLA |
| NFR-004 | Security | All user PII and sensitive data at rest shall be encrypted | AES-256 |
| NFR-005 | Security | Platform shall comply with payment card security standards for all transaction data | PCI-DSS Level 1 |
| NFR-006 | Usability | Platform shall be fully responsive and functional across all device types and screen sizes | Mobile · Tablet · Desktop |
| NFR-007 | Maintainability | Codebase shall follow a modular architecture enabling independent module deployment | MVC / Microservices |
| NFR-008 | Compatibility | Platform shall function correctly on the latest two versions of all major browsers | Chrome · Firefox · Safari · Edge |
| NFR-009 | SEO | All product and category pages shall be server-rendered and conform to Core Web Vitals | CWV Compliant |
| NFR-010 | Accessibility | Platform shall conform to web accessibility guidelines for inclusive usability | WCAG 2.1 Level AA |
§6
Use Cases
Use Case Summary
| UC ID | Use Case | Primary Actor | Priority |
|---|---|---|---|
| UC-001 | Register / Login | Customer | High |
| UC-002 | Browse & Search Products | Customer | High |
| UC-003 | Add to Cart & Checkout | Customer | High |
| UC-004 | Make Payment | Customer | High |
| UC-005 | Track Order | Customer | High |
| UC-006 | Submit Product Review | Customer | Medium |
| UC-007 | Manage Wishlist | Customer | Medium |
| UC-008 | Vendor Product Listing | Vendor | High |
| UC-009 | Vendor Order Fulfilment | Vendor | High |
| UC-010 | Admin User Management | Admin | High |
| UC-011 | Admin Analytics Dashboard | Admin | High |
| UC-012 | Apply Discount Code | Customer | Medium |
Detailed Use Case — UC-003: Add to Cart & Checkout
Use Case ID
UC-003
Use Case Name
Add to Cart & Checkout
Actor
Customer (primary) · Payment Gateway (system)
Pre-condition
Customer is logged in or proceeding as guest. Product is in stock with sufficient inventory.
Trigger
Customer clicks the "Add to Cart" button on a product detail page.
Main Flow
1. Customer selects product variant (if applicable). 2. Clicks Add to Cart — cart count updates in header. 3. Customer navigates to cart and reviews items. 4. Clicks Proceed to Checkout. 5. Selects or enters delivery address. 6. Selects preferred payment method. 7. Reviews itemized order summary with taxes. 8. Confirms order and completes payment. 9. System creates order, deducts inventory, and sends confirmation via email + SMS.
Alternate Flow
If item is out of stock, "Add to Cart" is replaced with "Notify Me". Customer can subscribe for restock alerts.
Exception Flow
If payment fails, the order is not created. Customer is redirected to retry with an alternate payment method. Cart items are preserved.
Post-condition
Order created in system. Payment captured. Invoice emailed to customer. Vendor notified of new order. Inventory decremented.
§7
Functional Process Flow — Customer Order Lifecycle
01
Customer
Visits platform and searches for a product using keyword or category navigation.
Displays ranked search results with filters, sorting options, and product thumbnails.
02
Customer
Selects a product and views the product detail page.
Loads product info, image gallery, ratings, stock status, and variant selector.
03
Customer
Clicks "Add to Cart" after selecting variant.
Adds item to cart. Updates cart count in header. Displays mini-cart confirmation.
04
Customer
Reviews cart contents and clicks "Proceed to Checkout".
Prompts login or guest checkout option. Loads address selection or entry form.
05
Customer
Selects delivery address and preferred payment method.
Calculates real-time shipping cost and estimated delivery date. Loads payment gateway.
06
Customer
Reviews final order summary and confirms payment.
Processes payment via gateway. Creates order record. Deducts inventory. Sends confirmation email + SMS.
07
System
Notifies vendor of new order via dashboard alert and email.
Vendor receives new order notification with order ID, product list, and delivery address.
08
Vendor
Confirms, packs, and dispatches the order. Updates tracking information.
Order status updated to "Shipped". Customer notified with tracking link via SMS + email.
09
Customer
Tracks order through the order tracking page.
Real-time tracking status displayed. Push notification on each milestone update.
10
Logistics
Delivers the order to the customer's address.
Status updated to "Delivered". 7-day return window activated. Review prompt triggered after 24 hours.
§8
Assumptions, Constraints & Dependencies
Assumptions
→The client has access to required API credentials for payment gateways (Razorpay / PayU) before development begins.
→All product images, descriptions, and content will be provided by onboarded vendors during the pre-launch seeding phase.
→The development team is proficient in the agreed technology stack. No additional upskilling time is factored into the timeline.
→Cloud hosting infrastructure (AWS / Azure / GCP) will be provisioned and managed by the development team.
→Browser compatibility is scoped to the last two major versions of Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge only.
Dependencies
| Dependency | Type | Owner | Impact if Delayed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Payment Gateway API | External | Razorpay / PayU | Checkout and payment flows cannot be built or tested |
| SMS / Email Service | External | Twilio / SendGrid | All customer and vendor notification features are blocked |
| Cloud Infrastructure | Internal | Dev Team | No staging or production deployment is possible |
| UX Wireframes | Internal | UX Designer | Frontend development cannot begin without approved wireframes |
| Seed Product Data | External | Vendor Partners | Platform catalog will be empty at launch — poor first impression |
§9
Risk Register
| Risk ID | Risk Description | Probability | Impact | Mitigation Strategy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RSK-001 | Payment gateway downtime affecting checkout completion | Medium | High | Integrate two gateways with auto-failover logic |
| RSK-002 | Data breach or unauthorized access to customer PII | Low | High | SSL, 2FA enforcement, AES-256 encryption, regular pen-testing |
| RSK-003 | Scope creep leading to timeline and budget overrun | High | Medium | Strict change control process; all changes require signed CRF |
| RSK-004 | Poor mobile UX negatively impacting conversion rates | Medium | High | Mobile-first design approach; mandatory mobile UAT sign-off |
| RSK-005 | Vendor onboarding delays resulting in thin catalog at launch | Medium | Medium | Pre-onboard at least 10 seed vendors during development phase |
| RSK-006 | Performance degradation under peak traffic loads | Medium | High | Load testing before launch; auto-scaling infrastructure configured |
§10
UAT Acceptance Criteria
UAT Process: UAT will be conducted by the Business Analyst in collaboration with designated business users. Every requirement in this BRD must have a corresponding passing test case before go-live approval is granted. Any failing test triggers a defect log and re-test cycle.
| Test ID | Requirement Ref. | Test Scenario | Expected Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UAT-001 | BR-CM-001 | Register with valid email and strong password | Account created; verification email sent within 60 seconds | Pending |
| UAT-002 | BR-CM-002 | Login and complete OTP-based two-factor authentication | OTP received on mobile; login successful after correct entry | Pending |
| UAT-003 | BR-SC-001 | Add product to cart and update quantity to 3 | Cart total recalculates correctly; updated quantity saved | Pending |
| UAT-004 | BR-PAY-001 | Complete full checkout using UPI payment | Payment processed; order created; invoice emailed within 2 min | Pending |
| UAT-005 | BR-OM-002 | Track order from placed to delivered status | Status timeline displayed accurately with correct timestamps | Pending |
| UAT-006 | BR-VP-002 | Vendor creates a new product listing with 4 images | Product visible in catalog after admin approval; images display correctly | Pending |
| UAT-007 | NFR-001 | Load product listing page under simulated normal traffic | Page loads within 3 seconds as per NFR target metric | Pending |
| UAT-008 | BR-SC-003 | Apply valid discount code at checkout | Discount deducted correctly; order total recalculated | Pending |
§11
Glossary
§12
Document Sign-Off
By signing below, stakeholders confirm they have reviewed this Business Requirements Document and approve it as the baseline for the E-Commerce Platform development project. Any future changes to this document must go through the formal change control process.
Name
Role / Department
Signature
Date
Manmathnath Mahanta
Business Analyst · Tech Exactly
Approved
June 2025
Project Sponsor
Executive Management
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Technical Lead
Engineering
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QA Lead
Quality Assurance
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