Plan Builder

Plan software projects from first conversation to final architecture — all in one integrated tool that feeds directly into your proposals.

Overview

The Plan Builder walks your team through every stage of project planning in a structured, step-by-step process. Starting with discovery, you capture client requirements and goals. From there, you build user personas, write user stories, map user flows, plan designs, choose a tech stack, and configure SaaS module implementations. When you’re done, share the finished plan with your client as a professional, branded link. Everything flows together into a cohesive plan that becomes the foundation for proposals and estimates.

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Discovery

Every great project starts with understanding the problem. The Discovery step walks your team through gathering client goals, business context, constraints, existing systems, and success criteria. Everything is captured in a structured format that feeds directly into the next planning steps — so nothing gets lost between the initial conversation and the final deliverable.

• Goal capture — Document what the client wants to achieve and why
• Requirements gathering — Record functional and non-functional requirements in a structured format
• Constraints & context — Capture budgets, timelines, existing systems, and technical constraints
• Stakeholder mapping — Identify who’s involved and what they care about

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User Personas

Build software for real people, not assumptions. User Personas captures the different types of users who will interact with the application. For each persona, you document their role, goals, frustrations, technical comfort, and key workflows. These personas then inform user stories, flows, and design decisions throughout the rest of the planning process.

• Persona profiles — Create detailed profiles for each user type with demographics, goals, and pain points
• Behavioural insights — Document how each persona currently works and what they need to change
• Priority ranking — Identify primary and secondary personas to focus effort where it matters most
• Story linkage — Personas connect directly to user stories so every story has a clear audience

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User Stories

Turn requirements into buildable work items. User Stories takes the personas and discovery output and breaks requirements down into individual stories following the “As a [persona], I want [goal] so that [reason]” format. Each story is scoped, prioritised, and linked back to its persona — creating a clear backlog that feeds into estimation and proposals.

• Structured format — Write stories using the standard user story template for consistency
• Persona linkage — Every story is tied to a specific persona so priorities are clear
• Acceptance criteria — Define what “done” looks like for each story
• Prioritisation — Rank stories by importance to guide what gets built first

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User Flows

See the full picture before writing a line of code. User Flows takes your personas and stories and turns them into visual step-by-step journeys through the application. Each flow shows where a user starts, what decisions they make, and where they end up. This validates that the application covers every scenario and helps identify gaps before design and development begin.

• Flow mapping — Create visual step-by-step flows for each key user journey
• AI design on canvas — Use the AI Designer to generate screen designs directly on the flow canvas
• Decision points — Map branches where users make choices that affect their path
• Gap detection — Identify missing screens, dead ends, or unclear transitions early
• Story alignment — Link flows back to user stories to ensure full coverage

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Design

Turn flows into screens. The Design step lets your team plan the visual structure and user experience before development starts. You can bring in designs from external tools or create them from scratch using AI — whatever fits your workflow. The output feeds into tech stack and implementation planning.

Design with Figma

Already have a design tool you love? Embed Figma designs directly into your plan so everything lives in one place. Your team can reference the designs alongside personas, stories, and flows without switching between tools.

• Figma embedding — Paste a Figma link and the design appears inline in your plan
• Screen planning — Define what each screen contains and how it’s structured
• Navigation design — Plan how users move between screens and sections
• Experience validation — Review the planned experience with stakeholders before building

Design with Platfio

Don’t have a designer on hand? Use the AI Designer built into Platfio to generate screens directly from a text prompt. Describe what you want, and the AI creates a working design on canvas — complete with components, layout, and styling. You can iterate on designs through conversation, right inside the planning tool.

• AI-generated designs — Describe what you want and get a working design in seconds, no external tools required
• Conversational iteration — Refine designs by chatting with the AI — change styles, add components, or rework layouts
• Canvas integration — Designs are created directly on the flow canvas alongside your user flows
• Component identification — AI identifies reusable UI components across the application

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Tech Stack Planning

Choose the right tools for the job. Tech Stack Planning guides your team through selecting frontend frameworks, backend services, databases, hosting, and third-party integrations. Decisions are informed by the project’s requirements, user flows, and design — so the tech stack is chosen to serve the product, not the other way around. The selected stack feeds into implementation planning and estimation.

• Framework selection — Choose frontend and backend frameworks based on project needs
• Infrastructure planning — Select hosting, databases, and cloud services
• Integration mapping — Identify third-party services and APIs the project needs
• Trade-off documentation — Record why each technology was chosen and what alternatives were considered

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SaaS Module Planning

Plan SaaS implementations by mapping requirements to available modules and identifying what needs custom work. For each requirement, you identify whether an existing module covers it, needs configuration, or requires custom development. This creates a clear implementation plan that feeds directly into the Fit-Gap Estimator for accurate costing.

• Module mapping — Match project requirements to available SaaS modules
• Configuration planning — Identify modules that need configuration versus custom development
• Gap identification — Surface requirements that no existing module covers
• Implementation roadmap — Produce a sequenced plan for enabling, configuring, and building each piece

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Share Plan

Share your finished plan with a single link. After running discovery with a client — whether it’s a paid engagement or a free introductory session — the Share Plan step takes everything captured in the Plan Builder and turns it into a clean, branded, shareable link. Your client sees a professional plan that summarises the discovery session, outlines the requirements gathered, describes the user personas, lists user stories, maps user flows, and presents the proposed design and technical approach.

• One-click sharing — Generate a shareable link from your plan and send it to your client instantly
• Branded presentation — Your client sees a polished, branded plan with your agency’s logo and styling
• Automatic generation — Pulls directly from your Plan Builder data, no manual copy-pasting or rewriting
• Full requirements outline — Presents user personas, user stories, user flows, and design plans in a structured, readable format
• Works for any engagement — Whether you ran a paid discovery or a free session, the plan captures everything discussed