Introduction
In this article, we will prepare a PRD (Project Requirements Document) for a Salon Shop App. We will go through all the fundamental steps of a PRD, which will address the various aspects of problems faced by a Salon Shop owner, staff and also customers, that can eventually lead to an output in the form of a successful software product in the end.
Problem Statements
Why do Customers need to visit a Salon prior to an appointment and wait in a queue?
Why do Salon staff need to be idle in case of no customers?
How can the Salon staff be prevented from the overloaded waiting queue?
How can the Salon staff and a Customer be engaged together through a web or a mobile application?
How time can be effectively managed between the salon staff and a Customer?
How can a Customer view the list of services available and their cost in a Salon?
How can a Customer find an available slot at a particular time on a specific day?
How can a Customer get discount or coupon facilities on special days or occasions?
What are the norms/rules that must be adhered by a Salon Staff?
How can a Salon Owner manage and monitor the activities of this staff through an online medium?
How can the start and end time of a Salon staff member be tracked through an application?
How to make sure that the Salon equipment and product are in stock and/or not expired?
Objectives
The objectives behind this idea are:
Ease the connection between a Salon and a Customer
Effective management of time at both the end
Prior information about the services available and cost, along with the available slot
Quality Salon service and maintenance
Admin monitoring and management
Effective feedback options for the Customers
Adherence to the Norms of a Quality and Professional Salon services
Various special Discounts or Coupons for the Customers on occasions
Tracking of Customer Tips and Feedbacks on Salon staff
Large network of Salon professionals and organizations across the country or globe
Hiring advertisement or announcements for the Salon Network
Legitimate and Approved Practical Training courses and certifications for the Professional Salon practices in different domains
Platform for effective Marketing and Advertisement of the Salon market
Scope
In-Scope
Presence over Web, Apple’s App Store and Google’s Play Store
Sign Up for Organization, Proprietor, Staff member, Salon Practitioner and Customer
Organization or Proprietor level Paid Subscriptions for different level of Services
Monitoring and management of Staff by Organization or Proprietor
Staff Management
Customized daily checklist for the Staff Members
Biometric based Log In and Log Out of Staff members and it’s Tracking
Staff Services and Support
Customer Free services and Fine charges on break of the rules/norms
Discounts or Coupons on special occasions
Verification and Periodic Re-verification of Professional Account Holders
Customer Support and Grievance
Customer Feedback and Review
Rating on Organization & Staff
Redeemable Bonus Points to Staff Member or Organization based on Customer Reviews and Ratings
Marketing and Advertisement of Organization or Shop
Online Tip by Customer to the Staff member (Totally up to the Customer and Service given by a Staff member)
Different modes of Payment to Staff member or Organization - UPI, Internet Banking, Debit/Credit card banking
Future Scope
Salon Professional’s Profile Management
Salon Professional Connections
Paid Practical Professional Courses and Certifications (Provided by Approved Salon Organizations & Professional, but available only on Premium Subscription)
Hiring and Job Search in the Salon Network
Free Salon Interior Designing Ideas limited only, but more on Premium Subscription
Legitimate Salon Interior Designing Contracts (External) for Premium Subscriber
Online store for Salon related Products/Equipment
Customizable T-shirts with the Company Logo and a Short Message (Only for Professionals)
Features and Requirements
Top Priority
Organization or Proprietor level
Organization’s or Proprietor’s Account Registration followed by Verification Process
Organization’s or Proprietor’s Paid Subscriptions for different level of application services for a certain time period
Staff Sign Up by Organization or Proprietor linked to the their Account
Sign Up and Login via Google, LinkedIn and Organization Code, along with Multi-factor Authentication, App level Unlocking via Password/Pattern/Fingerprint
Management of Organization’s/Proprietor’s Account and Staff Hierarchy
Yearly Re-verification of Organization/Proprietor and it’s Staff
Bank Account or Debit/Credit Card Account Verification and Registration by Organization and each of their Staff members
Organization/Proprietor ability to manage the staff, assign tasks and monitor their activities such as Log In and Log Out time
Few Pre-defined checklist items, and also customizable feature to further manage it
Profile Management feature to the Staff Members including Personal Details, Profile Photo, Cover Photo and Skill Sets
Staff featured with options to escalate issues above in the hierarchy
Feature for Staff to Request for new Equipment and Products in case of fault working and expiration, and for any Shop or Office Interior addition/maintenance
Feature for Staff for the Leave Application and Confirmation based on Approvals
Open Suggestions feature for Staff regarding anything which can improve the productivity of the Salon
Online Tip by Customer to the Staff member of a Salon
Delinking of Staff member on change of the Organization, and Removal of Staff member’s Account as well as Transactional Account (Historical data will be maintained as per the Regional/Government Policies and User Consent during closure)
Account disable/closure Option for Organization/Proprietor (Historical data will be maintained as per the Regional/Government Policies and User Consent during closure)
Organization level Predefined and Customizable checklist on Daily mandatory tasks
Catalogues for different kind of hair style, services and products for the Organization and their Staff Members
Redeemable Bonus Points to the Staff Member for referring a Customer to their Salon
Announcements feature for the Salon Owner to manage the activities of or instruct the Staff members
Customer level
Customer Sign Up for Free
Sign Up and Login via Google, Facebook and Instagram, along with Multi-factor Authentication, App level Unlocking via Password/Pattern/Fingerprint
Profile Management feature to the Customer including Personal Details, Profile Photo and Cover Photo
Search option to Customer for Salons based on different filters such as Rating, Location, Type, Gender, Age Range, Services and more
Available Time Slot selection
Add booked Time slot on Google Calendar
Notification at 30 mins and 15 mins before the booked slot start time
Notification Snoozing feature availability
Customer can view the list of working Staff members of a Salon, along with their name, avatar and skills
Customer rating and Feedback
Online Tip by Customer to the Staff member (will go directly to the account of that Staff member)
Account disable/closure Option for the Customer (Historical data will be maintained as per the Regional/Government Policies and User Consent during closure)
Customer Support and Grievance feature
Catalogues for different kind of hair style, services and products for the Customers
First time Booking Promo Coupon Code to every Customer
Discount Coupon Code notifications on Festivals and Birthday/Anniversary
Referral Coupon Code to the Referrer and a small Discount to Referee as well on successful refer
Minimum Fine on Customer if appointment cancelled within 30 mins. of the booked time (To be paid first before the next booking)
Mandatory Partial pre-payment of Booking for Bride and/or Groom (Payment directly to the Salon Owner account)
Low Priority
Professional Salon Practitioner’s Individual Sign Up for Free (Separate from Organization’s Staff account)
Sign Up and Login via Google and LinkedIn, along with Multi-factor Authentication, App level Unlocking via Password/Pattern/Fingerprint
Profile Management feature to the Professional Salon Practitioner
Account disable/closure Option for the Professional Salon Practitioner (Historical data will be maintained as per the Regional/Government Policies and User Consent during closure)
Salon Professional’s Social Connection
Paid Practical Professional Courses and Certifications (Provided by Approved Salon Organizations & Professional, but available only on Premium Subscription)
Hiring by Organization/Proprietor, available with Premium Subscription
Basic Job Search in the Salon Social Network, and Advanced features with Premium Subscription
Free Salon Interior Designing Ideas limited only, but more on Premium Subscription
Legitimate Salon Interior Designing Contracts (External) for Premium Subscriber
Online store for Salon related Products/Equipment
Customizable T-shirts with the Company Logo and a Short Message (Only for Professionals)
Use Cases
Online Monitoring of Staff and Salon activities by a Salon Owner or Organization
Pre-requisites:
The Salon Owner is registered, verified and logged-in to the application.
Steps:
Open the App
Navigate to the Manage Staff section
View the no. of members already logged-in out of total
Monitor the activities of Individual staff member by clicking on a Staff member
Check if daily basic checklist have been completed or not
Go over the Customer ratings and reviews about the Staff members and the Salon itself
Use Chat option to instruct a particular Staff member about a particular activity
Use Announcements feature to announce common instructions to all the Staff members
Check out the requests or suggestions from the Staff members and respond to it through the Open Connect feature
Enjoy the day managing everything online
Benefits:
Owner can manage & monitor everything online without being physically present from anywhere across the globe.
Daily Activities, Checklist Completion and Customer Services by the Salon Staff with the help of an App
Pre-requisites:
The Staff Member is registered and verified with the organization.
The Profile of the Staff Member , mainly the mandatory section, is Up-to-date.
The Staff Member is logged-in the the application.
Steps:
Come to the shop/office and mark Log In through the Biometric
Open the App and validate that Log In is tracked. If not, go to Open Connect section and inform the Owner
Navigate to the Daily Task Checklist section
Perform all the basic cleaning, sanitizing, equipment charging, set-up, etc. as mentioned in the Checklist
Mark the checklist as completed after completion
View the upcoming appointments from the Appointments section, and assign any one from the un-assigned appointments
Get the set-up ready for an appointment
When customer arrives, mark the arrival of the customer from the app
Attend the Customer, take the payment and then request for a feedback on the app
Report to the owner of any equipment fault or product expirations or low quantity of products through the Open Connect feature
Suggest any improvements through the Open Connect feature
Apply leaves if any through the Leave management section
Mark out on Biometric at the end of the day
Smile and thank god for the good day
Benefits:
The whole schedule and activities of the Staff member are pre-defined, and there is no space for overload. They can have direct connect to the owner through the app itself and everything is tracked at one single place i.e., the Salon app.
Customer Pre-booking a slot in a Salon of their choice through an App
Pre-requisites:
The customer must have an account, verified and logged-in to the app.
Steps:
Open the App
A pop-up will appear for the User Consent on few rules or policies while using the app. Read through it and then agree
Navigate to Book a Salon section
Filter the list based on various criteria as per the requirement
View the existing ratings and reviews of the target Salon
After clear analysis, navigate to that Salon
Select the services you want to opt for
Select the slot from the available time slots
Use First time booking PROMO Coupon or Referral Coupon or Discount Coupon or multiple of them, as applicable
You will get a notification 30 mins. and 15 mins. before the booked time slot
Visit the shop within the Booked time slot, max 10 mins. delay permissible. If more delayed, it’s up to the Salon either to cancel the booking or charge minimum penalty fee or let it go (Non-violence and Mutual Understanding is advisable)
Get the services from the Salon as booked
Give the correct feedback to the Salon or specifically the Staff member through the app itself
Pay them directly with payment mode of your choice or available choices at the Salon, and then get confirmation of payment from Staff on the app itself
Tip to the Staff member for the service is completely up to the Customer
Revisit the app and continue enjoying the services again as usual
Benefits
The Customer were able to pre-book a Salon time slot with required services, pay after taking the services (no pre-payments for normal services), give tip to the Staff member through the app, and finally give reviews or rating to the Salon or Staff member.
Bride or Groom Pre-booking through an App
Pre-requisites:
The customer must have an account, verified and logged-in to the app.
Steps:
Open the App
A pop-up will appear for the User Consent on few rules or policies while using the app. Read through it and then agree
Navigate to the Bride or Groom section to book a slot on a special day
Filter the list based on various criteria as per the requirement
View the existing ratings and reviews of the target Salon
After clear analysis, navigate to that Salon
Select the services you want to opt for
Select the slot(s) from the available time slots
Use First time booking PROMO Coupon or Referral Coupon or Discount Coupon or multiple of them, as applicable
A partial pre-payment to the Salon directly through the app itself
You will get a notification 30 mins. and 15 mins. before the booked time slot
Visit the shop within the Booked time slot. No penalty in case of delay as already partial pre-payment done, and it’s a special booking on a special day for a special one. However, pre-inform the Salon in case of extreme delay to avoid any confusion.
Salon can also reach out to you in case of long delays
Get the services from the Salon as booked, a special treatment of course.
Give the correct feedback to the Salon or specifically the Staff member through the app itself
Pay them directly the remaining amount with payment mode of your choice or available choices at the Salon, and then get confirmation of payment from Staff on the app itself
Tip to the Staff member for the service is completely up to the Customer (Most expected by the Staff who served you on such occasion)
Revisit the app and continue enjoying the services again as usual
Benefits
The Customer were able to pre-book a Salon time slot with required services, pre-pay partially to confirm the booking even in case of extreme delays, give tip to the Staff member through the app, and finally give reviews or rating to the Salon or Staff member.
Technical Requirements
Team
An Accountant or CA
One or more Advocate(s)
Few Expert Advisors from Salon Domain
Few Investors
A Technical Writer
A UI/UX Designer
A Front-end Web Developer
A Back-end Web Developer
A Native App Developer for Android and iOS
A DBA
A DevOps Engineer
A Cloud Engineer
A Product Manager
A Scrum master
A Tester
Two or more Sales Representatives
Remaining Supportive Staff
Space and Non-Software Infrastructure (Requirements will be less in case of Remote Set-up)
An Office
Workstations
Conference Rooms
White Boards with Markers and Duster
Projectors
Laptops
Desktops
Mobile Devices of different screen resolutions of different Models
Many more things
Software Tech Stack and Infrastructure
OS such as Windows, Linux, Mac
Databases such as MySQL, Postgres, Elasticsearch, MongoDB, or other Cloud DB
Back-end technologies such as JavaScript, Nodejs, Express.js or Python or any other as per requirements
Front-end technologies such as JavaScript, HTML, CSS, TypeScript, React, and other many libraries on requirement basis
Redis for Caching and other features
Notification Engines
Messaging Queue management
React Native for Mobile Applications
GIT
Agile methodology if needed
JIRA or Microsoft Azure DevOps
Confluence or other documentation software
Jenkins or Azure DevOps for CI
Docker and Kubernetes for CD
Cloud Infrastructure such as AWS for infrastructure requirements such as Scalability, High Availability, Low Latency and more
CDN for Assets
Hosting Domains
SEO and Digital Marketing tools
Unit Testing Tools
Integration Testing Tools
Automation Testing Tools
Load and Performance Testing Tools
UAT Testing
Design Requirements
Figma, Marker.io, Adove XD or Canva, as per the requirements
Favicon for Web and Mobile Apps with different resolutions
App logo for Web and Mobile Apps with different resolutions
Splash screen design for Mobile App
A loader design for Web and Mobile Apps with different resolutions
Unavailable Service or Error screen design for Web and Mobile Apps
High quality and compressed Images, Videos and GIFs
Avatar design
Sign Up, Login, Home, Admin, Staff Services and Customer Services, Settings, Feedback and Grievance, and many more Screen Designs
Color code combinations
Themes
Fonts
Style guide and Pre-designed components
Design of Notifications, Announcements, Special Offers and Discounts sections
Simple, Unique, Comfortable and Attractive Animations
Catalogue Images and Short Videos with high quality
Design Documents for every design
Success Metrics
Active Users - Measures the number of unique users who interact with an App within a specific time period.
Conversion Rate - Measures the percentage of users who complete an action on an App after visiting it.
Bounce rate - Measures the percentage of visitors who leave an App after viewing only one page or screen.
Customer Satisfaction Score - Measures how satisfied customers are with an App and it’s services.
Customer Recommendation/Referral Score - Measures how likely customers are to recommend an App.
Customer Retention Score - Measures how well a business retains customers over time.
Churn rate - Measures how likely customers stopping the relationship with an App over a specific time frame.
Monthly Recurring Revenue - Measures the predictable income a company earns from customers each month.
Customer Revenue or Value - Measures the revenue a business generates from a customer.
Forecast Revenue over a period of time - Predicts how much revenue a company is expected to generate within a specific period.
Many more metrics
Timelines
3-4 month for Discussions and Requirements
2-3 months for Database Schema Design
3-6 months for Design Wireframes and Assets
6-8 months for a Web Application
4-6 months for a Native Application
3-4 months for Testing and Performance Improvement
4-6 months for Cloud Infrastructure setup
6-12 months for various Legal Procedures
2-3 months for Application Launch publicly
Followed by Low Priority Advanced Features and Enhancements one by one
Lifetime Maintenance
Conclusion
In this article, we covered different components of a PRD in detail, covering various aspects of a Product, which will solve major problem statements related to Salon domain for the Customers as well as the Salon Professionals, in India especially.
This article is the result of my knowledge, research, analysis, thought process and efforts made to document a better PRD which can be adapted for a full-fledged Product Development in the future.
Hope you liked it. Please don’t forget to like and provide your feedback on this article.
Thank you so much for reading the article till the end.