Community platform requirements checklist

Feature lists encourage buyers to compare products without agreeing on the problem. A better requirements process starts with member and operator workflows.

Audience and outcomes

• Who will join: members, partners, contributors, developers, or employees?
• Will multiple audiences share the same environment?
• What should members accomplish?
• Which teams own the outcomes?
• What would make the program unnecessary or unsuccessful?

Member experience

Evaluate:

• Custom domain and branding.
• Mobile and desktop usability.
• Search and content discovery.
• Discussion and long-form publishing.
• Events and RSVPs.
• Direct messaging.
• Notifications and member preferences.
• Accessibility and localization requirements.

Ask vendors to demonstrate complete journeys, not isolated settings.

Identity and access

Document:

• Invitation and self-registration rules.
• SSO protocols and product handoff.
• Member, partner, admin, and moderator roles.
• Private groups and channel permissions.
• Provisioning and deprovisioning.
• Account merging and identity changes.

Use realistic edge cases during evaluation.

Integrations

List systems that must exchange data with the community:

• Primary application or website.
• CRM or member-management platform.
• Support desk.
• Documentation.
• Marketing automation.
• Analytics or warehouse.
• Identity provider.

Separate required launch integrations from desirable future connections.

Governance and safety

Review moderation tools, reporting, audit needs, admin delegation, data retention, privacy workflows, backups, incident response, and acceptable-use controls.

Require evidence for security and compliance claims. A checkbox is not proof that a product meets your organization's policy.

Data and deployment

Clarify data ownership, export formats, API access, migration support, hosting regions, subprocessors, deletion, and deployment choices. If BYOC is required, define who operates each layer and how upgrades work.

Commercial model

Calculate total cost across:

• Membership or usage tiers.
• Admin seats and add-ons.
• Implementation and migration.
• Integration work.
• Training and support.
• Contract term and price changes.
• Internal administration.

Scoring the shortlist

Weight requirements before demos. Mark each item as mandatory, important, or optional. Require notes and evidence for every score.

Use KonnecTo's community-platform comparison framework to structure a shortlist, then test the highest-risk workflows in a pilot.