The scoping process: how to get real about what your platform needs

See the gaps. Confirm the fit. Protect the plan.

You’ve done the demos. You’ve asked the strategic questions. You’ve narrowed down the list. Now it’s time to roll up your sleeves and get practical.

This is where real evaluation happens — not in pitch decks or high-level roadmaps, but in detailed conversations about what will work, what needs to be built, and what it will take to get there.

Welcome to the Scoping Process. It’s where big decisions become smart ones.

What is the Scoping Process?

The Scoping Process is a detailed analysis between your team and a potential vendor. It’s where you sit down together and define exactly how their digital banking platform would work for your institution — from third-party integrations to business banking workflows to feature gaps that need custom builds.

It’s not about assumptions. It’s about evidence.

• You define your technical landscape
• You map your functional needs
• They show you what’s built, what’s not, and what’s possible
• And together, you uncover where the gaps are — with a plan for how to address them

Why Scoping matters so much

By the time you reach Scoping, you’ve done a lot of heavy lifting. You’ve engaged your team, outlined your goals, reviewed RFPs, and sat through hours of demos. You’ve narrowed the list — maybe even found a frontrunner.

Now it’s time to validate what’s real. Not in theory. Not in slides. But in detailed, two-way conversations that get into how your institution’s needs will actually be met — day to day, screen to screen, system to system.

This is where you get honest about complexity. Where you flag the edge cases, the third-party tools you rely on, the reporting your team can’t live without, the way your operations staff manages exceptions no one ever talks about in demos. This is where the difference between “we can support that” and “here’s exactly how we’ll support that” becomes clear.

That clarity matters — because once you sign, you’re not evaluating anymore. You’re building. And your project timeline, internal resourcing, and overall confidence depend on knowing what’s really in scope.

Scoping gives you:

• A space to define expectations before contracts are signed
• The opportunity to build shared understanding between your team and the vendor’s team
• A real-world assessment of how well the platform fits your current systems, workflows, and use cases
• Early visibility into what may need extra budget, development time, or change management

It’s also your chance to involve new internal voices — the people who will be most impacted by configuration, data, and day-to-day operations. It’s where your IT team can raise flags, your operations team can talk through workflows, and your vendor’s product team can respond with substance.

You’re not just investing time — you’re investing in confidence.

Because the cost of guessing now is far higher than the cost of collaborating well upfront.

What gets covered in Scoping

Scoping covers the real-world complexity your digital banking platform needs to handle. This includes:

• Core systems and third-party integrations
• Functionality gaps that may require custom development
• Security, permissioning, and admin controls
• Retail and business banking features
• Special handling for account opening, card features, or niche services

Each of these elements is captured, discussed, and reviewed — so both teams know what’s in scope, out of scope, and still needs a plan.

What Scoping Meetings look like

Scoping isn’t a one-sided checklist. It’s a working session.

• Your team brings context: system diagrams, workflows, and known needs
• The vendor brings their product leads, sales engineers, or solutions consultants
• Together, you walk through the workbook, line by line
• And you identify anything that will require additional time, budget, or configuration

This is also your chance to demo your current platform, so the vendor sees what your teams (and users) rely on today — and what must be preserved or improved.

At the end of the meeting, you’ll leave with:

• A completed version of your scoping workbook
• A vendor response on capability fit and gaps
• Items that may need to be included in your contract or MSA later

Ready to Scope with confidence?

This workbook was built to help you lead productive, focused scoping conversations with your finalist vendors. It’s structured to uncover details that often get overlooked — from third-party dependencies to business banking workflows to custom functionality requests.

Whether you’re preparing for a single vendor session or working through multiple options side by side, this resource helps your team capture what matters, spot potential gaps, and stay aligned all the way through to contracting.

Inside the workbook, you’ll find:

• A ready-to-use template to document every integration, feature, and workflow
• Pre-built sections for retail and business banking requirements
• A tracking table for enhancements, out-of-scope items, and custom development
• Fields to assign ownership, flag open questions, and prep for MSA or SOW inclusion

Grab the workbook. Prep your team. Sit down with your finalists.

And make sure what looks good on paper actually works in practice.