> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.prophic.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# How Prophic's 5-Stage Pre-Sales Pipeline Works

> Every Prophic project runs through five sequential tabs: Requirements Ingestion, Analysis, FSD, WBS, and Summary. Each stage feeds the next so you can scope, estimate, and propose in minutes.

Every project in Prophic follows the same five-stage scope pipeline. The stages appear as tabs across the top of each project and are sequential by design: the output of one stage becomes the input for the next. You can still access any stage at any time, skip stages your process does not require, and override anything along the way.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Requirements Ingestion">
    Collect everything the client sent you. Paste raw text (bullet points, email copy, rough brief) into the requirements editor in any format. You can also upload PDF or DOCX documents by clicking **Add Document**. Prophic reads all documents and text together during analysis, and you can add multiple documents to the same project.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Requirement Analysis">
    Click **Generate Analysis** to produce seven structured outputs:

    * **Project Overview**: a high-level summary you can use as a sanity check.
    * **Functional Requirements**: categorized by module or feature area, describing behavior or user-facing capability.
    * **Non-Functional Requirements**: performance, accessibility, scalability, security, and localization needs.
    * **Technical Specifications**: recommended architecture including databases, front and back end frameworks, auth, and API integrations. If you have set **Custom Instructions** for tech specs, Prophic applies your preferred stack instead of generic recommendations.
    * **Risks**: items with delivery risk such as unclear integrations, third-party dependencies, or under-specified functionality.
    * **Assumptions**: what Prophic assumes when the brief is silent; each is confirmable with the client.
    * **Open Questions & Open Items**: open questions go to the client and can be marked **Answered**. Open items are observations worth tracking that do not fit as risks or assumptions.

    Every section is editable. When you add a new scope version, analysis compares against the previous version and flags which assumptions and questions were addressed and which remain open.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Functional Specification Document (FSD)">
    Click **Generate FSD** to lock the scope before estimation. The FSD contains:

    * Executive summary
    * In-scope items
    * Out-of-scope items
    * Key workflows (primary user flows and system processes)
    * Error handling definitions

    The editor uses a split-screen layout: left panel for Markdown source, right panel for live preview. If you edit upstream analysis, click **Regenerate FSD** to rebuild from the latest analysis.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)">
    Click **Generate WBS** to build a four-tier hierarchy: **Component to Module to Task to Subtask**.

    * **Components**: major system areas (for example, Authentication, Core Application, Infra & DevOps, Third-Party Integrations).
    * **Modules**: functional groupings within components.
    * **Tasks**: specific work within a module.
    * **Subtasks**: further breakdown when needed.

    Each task is assigned a service role from the active **Configuration Template**, an estimated hour count, and a **complexity factor from 0.00 to 1.00** representing execution difficulty. The project-level complexity shown on the Summary stage is a weighted aggregate of these task-level scores.

    You can remove tasks, adjust hours, add components or modules, and change service roles via dropdown. Make all edits before you recalculate. Click **Recalculate** to update total hours, man days, cost per role, and total cost using current WBS values. Recalculation is a local bottom-up calculation and does **not** call the AI or consume credits. You can also **Export WBS** to download the full hierarchy as Excel.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Summary">
    The Summary stage shows total effort, man days, complexity factor, total cost, and an effort and cost breakdown per service role. When you are ready to deliver to the client, click **Generate Proposal**, choose **PDF or DOCX** format, then download or preview.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Skipping and re-running stages

Stages are sequential by design, but any stage can be accessed at any time. Skip stages your process does not require, or jump back to edit an earlier stage and then regenerate the downstream output. Keep in mind that **Generate Analysis**, **Generate FSD**, **Generate WBS**, and **Generate Proposal** all consume AI credits. Local edits and **Recalculate** on the WBS do not. For details on what costs credits and what does not, see [AI Credits](/concepts/ai-credits).

## Scope versions

When a client sends a revised brief or a change request, add a new scope version inside the same project. Prophic re-analyzes the new version and compares it against the previous one, flagging which assumptions and open questions were addressed and which remain open. This keeps change-request handling inside the original engagement rather than spawning a new project each time.

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Projects vs Quick Quotes" icon="git-compare" href="/concepts/projects-vs-quick-quotes">
    Compare the full project pipeline with the autonomous Quick Quotes flow.
  </Card>

  <Card title="AI Credits" icon="cpu" href="/concepts/ai-credits">
    Learn which actions consume credits and how to monitor your usage.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>


## Related topics

- [How AI Credits Work in Prophic](/concepts/ai-credits.md)
- [What Is Prophic? The Pre-Sales OS for Agencies](/introduction.md)
- [Projects vs Quick Quotes: Choose the Right Workflow](/concepts/projects-vs-quick-quotes.md)
- [Pre-Sales Best Practices for Faster, Tighter Scopes](/resources/scoping-best-practices.md)