Product Requirements Document: SaaS ERP Platform¶

Version: 1.0 Status: Draft Author: Sarath, Product Manager

1. Introduction & Vision¶

This document outlines the requirements for a new, modern, multi-tenant SaaS ERP platform. The vision is to create a secure, scalable, and user-friendly system that empowers businesses to manage their core operations efficiently. The initial market entry will focus on a robust Core Platform and a comprehensive Human Resources (HR) Module, with a modular design that allows for future expansion.

2. User Personas¶

Priya, the HR Manager: (Mid-size company) "I need a centralized system to manage all employee data, track leave, run reports, and streamline our hiring and performance reviews. It must be secure and easy for our employees to use."
Sarah, the Small Business Owner: (Startup/SMB) "I wear many hats, including HR. I need an affordable, self-service platform that I can set up quickly to manage my small team's HR needs without requiring a dedicated IT or HR person."
Mark, the Employee: (Any company) "I want to easily access my payslips, request time off, see who's on my team, and manage my personal information without having to email HR for everything."
Alex, the Super Admin/Support Engineer: (ERP Vendor) "I need privileged access to manage multiple customer tenants for setup, configuration, and troubleshooting, with robust audit logs to track my actions."
David, the IT Admin: (Enterprise Customer) "I need to integrate this new system with our company's Active Directory for Single Sign-On (SSO) and ensure it meets our security and data privacy standards."

3. Functional Requirements & User Stories¶

3.1. Core Platform¶

3.1.1. User & Tenant Management¶

US-101: As a new user (Sarah), I want to sign up for the service with my email, choose a subscription plan, and create my own company workspace (tenant), so that I can start using the product immediately.
US-102: As a Tenant Admin (Priya), I want to invite new users to my organization via an email link, so they can create their accounts and join our workspace.
US-103: As a new user receiving an invite, I want to click a "magic link" to create my account and be automatically added to the correct organization.
US-104: As a user who works for multiple companies (e.g., a consultant), I want to use a single login and then select which organization I want to access.
US-105: As a user (Mark), I want a persistent "Tenant Switcher" in the UI to easily move between my organizations without logging out.
US-106: As an IT Admin (David), I want to configure SSO with our company's identity provider (like Active Directory via Keycloak), so our employees can log in with their existing company credentials.
US-107: As a Super Admin (Alex), I want to have a separate, privileged login that allows me to view and manage multiple customer tenants for support purposes.

3.1.2. Subscription & Billing¶

US-121: As a Tenant Admin (Sarah), I want to view my current subscription plan and self-serve an upgrade or downgrade.
US-122: As a Tenant Admin (Priya), I want to add or remove specific modules (e.g., "Performance Management") from my subscription to tailor the product to my needs.

3.1.3. Technical Architecture¶

REQ-131: The system must be built on a microservice architecture to ensure scalability and independent deployment of modules.
REQ-132: All inter-service communication must be asynchronous and message-driven via a message broker (e.g., Kafka, RabbitMQ).
REQ-133: The frontend must be a modern Single Page Application (SPA) and be installable as a Progressive Web App (PWA).
REQ-134: The system must enforce strict data isolation between tenants at the database, storage, and application layers.

3.2. Document Management Module (Core Service)¶

US-201: As a developer building a feature, I want to use a centralized API to securely upload a file and associate it with an entity (e.g., an employee ID), so I don't have to build file storage logic in my module.
US-202: As an HR Manager (Priya), I want to upload an employment contract to an employee's profile, knowing it is stored securely.
REQ-203: All files must be stored in a dedicated object storage solution (e.g., MinIO), while metadata is stored in a queryable database.

3.3. Human Resources (HR) Module¶

3.3.1. Employee Information Management¶

US-301: As an HR Manager (Priya), I want to view a central profile for each employee containing their personal, contact, and employment details.
US-302: As an HR Manager (Priya), I want to define custom fields for employee profiles to capture company-specific information.
US-303: As an Employee (Mark), I want to view a company directory and a visual org chart to understand who works in which department and what the reporting structure is.

3.3.2. Leave & Attendance Management¶

US-311: As an HR Manager (Priya), I want to configure different leave types (Vacation, Sick) and set accrual rules based on employee tenure.
US-312: As an Employee (Mark), I want to view my current leave balance and submit a time-off request for my manager's approval.
US-313: As a Manager, I want to receive a notification for a new leave request and be able to approve or deny it.
US-314: As a team member, I want to see a shared team calendar showing who is out of the office.

3.3.3. Recruitment & Onboarding¶

US-321: As an HR Manager (Priya), I want to create a job opening and publish it to a public-facing career page.
US-322: As a hiring manager, I want to view all applicants for my job opening in a pipeline and leave feedback on their profiles.
US-323: As an HR Manager (Priya), when a candidate accepts an offer, I want their profile to be automatically converted into a new employee record, triggering the onboarding process.
US-324: As a new hire, I want a portal where I can see my onboarding tasks (e.g., "Upload ID," "Sign NDA") and complete them.

3.3.4. Performance Management¶

US-331: As an Employee (Mark), I want to set my quarterly goals (OKRs) and align them with my manager's goals.
US-332: As a Manager, I want to initiate a performance review cycle where my direct reports complete a self-assessment and I provide my evaluation.
US-333: As an Employee (Mark), I want to use a 1-on-1 meeting tool to collaborate on agendas and track action items with my manager.

4. Out of Scope / Future Scope¶

4.1. Parked Modules¶

Payroll: All payroll-related functionality is deferred until a dedicated Finance module is scoped and defined.

4.2. Key Backlog Features (Post-MVP)¶

Public API & Webhooks for external integrations.
Bulk data import/export tools (CSV).
White-labeling (custom logo, theme colors).
In-app help center and knowledge base.

5. Assumptions & Dependencies¶

A dedicated object storage solution (like MinIO) will be available for the Document Management module.
An identity broker (like Keycloak) will be used to manage all authentication and SSO integrations.
A message broker (like Kafka or RabbitMQ) will be the backbone of the integration architecture.

This PRD is now ready for review by the architecture and development teams. It provides a detailed breakdown of the features and user stories required for the initial build. What is our next step?

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