Confluence Templates Every BA Should Use (Requirements, Meeting Notes, Decisions)
Three Confluence templates cover most of a business analyst's writing: product requirements, meeting notes and decision. See what each one holds, then fill in a decision page step by step.
Step by step
Three templates
- Templates for BAs. Confluence has over 100 templates, but a business analyst uses 3 of them most days. Here is what each one is for, and how to fill one in.
- Product requirements. The product requirements template holds the objective, how you measure success, and a table of requirements with their user stories. Use it for every new feature.
- Meeting notes. The second template is meeting notes. It has the meeting goals, what was discussed, action items with an owner, and the decisions made. Use it for every workshop and review.
- Decision. The third template is decision. It records who drives the decision, who approves it, the background, the options with their pros and cons, and the outcome. Use it for any choice people might question later.
Use one
- Use template. To use the decision template, click Use template. Then close the panel on the right to give the page more room.
- Name the decision. Name the page after the decision, here Wish list sign in decision, and press Enter to move into the page.
- The background. Under Background, write the question the decision answers: Can shoppers save a wish list without an account?
- The outcome. Under Outcome, write what you decided and why: Shoppers sign in to save a wish list, so the list stays with their account.
Publish
- Publish. Click Publish, then click Publish again to confirm.
- Published. The decision now has its own page. Anyone who asks why it was made can read it there instead of asking you.
Recap
- Requirements, notes, decisions. Use product requirements for features, meeting notes for every meeting and decision for every big choice. Pick one and fill in the blanks.
Common mistakes
- Writing the outcome without the reason. A decision page that only says what was decided invites the same debate later. Add the why in the same line, like "so the list stays with their account".
- Skipping the background question. Without it, readers can't tell what problem the decision solved. Write the question as one clear sentence, such as "Can shoppers save a wish list without an account?"
- Action items with no owner. In meeting notes, an action nobody owns usually doesn't get done. Put a name against every action item before you publish the notes.
- Requirements with no way to measure success. The product requirements template asks how you will measure success. Fill it in, or nobody can say later whether the feature worked.
When a business analyst uses this
After a workshop where stakeholders agree that shoppers must sign in to save a wish list, a business analyst records it on a decision page with the background, the options and the outcome. They then link the page from the requirement in the product requirements page, so testers and new team members can see why it was decided.
Questions people ask
Which Confluence templates should a business analyst use?
Start with 3: product requirements for new features, meeting notes for workshops and reviews, and decision for choices people might question later. Together they cover most of a business analyst's writing.
What goes on a Confluence decision page?
Who drives the decision, who approves it, the background, the options with their pros and cons, and the outcome. At minimum, write the question under Background and what you decided, and why, under Outcome.
What should meeting notes in Confluence include?
The meeting notes template covers the goals, what was discussed, action items with an owner, and the decisions made.
