DAM Requirements Builder

How it works

The DAM Requirements Builder shows one table of 260 requirements, two filters and a priority selector on every line.

1. Each requirement carries an ID from its domain letter and position: A01 to A52, M01 to M52, W01 to W52, D01 to D52 and S01 to S52.
2. The domain filter and the priority filter combine, and a count line reports how many of the 260 lines show.
3. The priority selector on each line sets Must, Should, Could or Won't. The tool stores the change at once.
4. The table redraws when a filter changes, so a re-prioritised line stays in view until the next filter change.
5. The export writes all 260 lines with ID, domain, requirement and your current priority, whatever the filters show.

Won't lines record a deliberate exclusion. Each domain holds one, such as "Rights stored only in free-text notes", so the team and the vendors see what the organisation refuses.

Domains

The DAM Requirements Builder splits the 260 requirements into five domains of 52, and the default priorities differ per domain.

Metadata and search, and security and platform, carry the most must-haves at 11 each. DAMSelection assessment: the metadata model decides DAM success, which is why controlled vocabularies, hierarchical taxonomies and mandatory fields all start as Must.

Worked example

The DAM Requirements Builder opens on all domains and all priorities, so the count line reads 260 of 260 requirements shown.

Worked example: an IT architect preparing the security review selects the domain "Security and platform" and the priority "Must". The count line reads 11 of 260 requirements shown:

• S01 SAML or OIDC single sign-on
• S02 Role and attribute-based permissions
• S03 Separate permissions for external users
• S04 Encryption in transit and at rest
• S05 ISO 27001 or SOC 2 Type II certification
• S06 Named hosting region and backup region
• S08 Published sub-processor list
• S09 Data processing agreement under GDPR
• S11 Availability commitment with service credits
• S28 Full data export on termination
• S39 Sandbox environment with production-like configuration and sample data

The organisation requires EU data residency, so the architect switches the filter to "Should", finds S07 "EU data residency including AI processing" and sets it to Must. The Must total rises from 45 to 46, and the export carries the change.

The same filters serve other roles. A DAM manager filters "Workflow and rights" to check the rights lines W07 to W14, and a PIM owner filters "Distribution and integration" to find D10, the PIM connector requirement.

How to use the result

The DAM Requirements Builder output closes Checkpoint 2, Define, and every must-have then needs a test at Checkpoint 5.

1. Review the defaults with each user group from the selection team and record who changed which priority.
2. Add organisation-specific requirements to the exported spreadsheet, using the format in DAM functional requirements.
3. Convert each must-have into a scenario in the Demo Script Generator. W08 maps to "Expire a licensed image everywhere", D10 to "Pull assets through the API" and S28 to "Export everything".
4. Send Should and Could lines in the RFP template as written questions.
5. Weight the domains in the scoring matrix before the first demo.

DAMSelection assessment: a must-have that no scripted scenario tests carries no selection weight, because every vendor answers "yes" on paper. The requirements checklist lists the same 260 lines by domain for reading and printing.

Limitations

The DAM Requirements Builder gives a generic starting set, and four limits apply before the list becomes a specification.

• The default priorities reflect PIMvendors practice across selections. Your scope, industry and stack change them.
• A requirement states a capability and leaves the quality bar open. "Faceted search across all metadata fields" needs a pass criterion in the demo script.
• The tool holds no weights and no scoring. Weighting happens in the scoring matrix.
• Priorities live in the open page only. A page reload restores the defaults, so export before closing.

The list covers the DAM alone, and the other DAM selection tools take it further. Requirements for the PIM, the CMS or the e-commerce platform sit in their own selections, linked through the integration lines in domain D.