Northwind Outfitters — Member Portal

A sample agency engagement — see how one client meeting becomes traced requirements, an approved Scope of Work, and a resource-aware plan.

This is exactly what Plansmithy produces from a single client meeting — every requirement traced to a quote, an approved Scope of Work, and a resource-aware plan. Read on, then join the waitlist.

Step 1

The client meeting

Paste a transcript — Plansmithy reads it the way a senior PM would.

Client (Dana, Head of Membership): Thanks for coming in. Northwind Outfitters runs an outdoor-gear membership — about 40,000 members today. The current portal is a decade old and members can't do much beyond logging in. We want a rebuild.
Agency (PM): Let's start with what a member should be able to do.
Client: First, signing up has to be painless. A new member should be able to create an account with just an email and a password, verify the email, and pick a membership tier in under two minutes. Right now it takes a support call.
Agency: Understood. What about returning members?
Client: They land on a dashboard. They need to see their tier, their renewal date, and their order history at a glance. A lot of our support tickets are just "when does my membership renew?" — that should be obvious.
Agency: Any self-service actions?
Client: Yes — members should be able to upgrade or downgrade their tier themselves, and update their payment method without calling us. Billing is the other big one: we charge annually, and members want a clear receipt emailed after every charge.
Agency: How do you want to handle renewals?
Client: Automatic renewal by default, but a member can turn off auto-renew from the dashboard. And please send a reminder email seven days before any charge — surprise charges are our number-one complaint.
Agency: Notifications generally?
Client: Email is enough for launch. Renewal reminders, receipts, and a welcome email when someone joins. No SMS yet.
Agency: Anything explicitly out of scope?
Client: No native mobile app this round — responsive web is fine. No loyalty-points system yet, and we're keeping our existing Stripe account, so no new payment processor. Launch target is roughly four months with a small team.

Step 2

Requirements, traced to the transcript

11 requirements across 3 epics — each links back to what the client actually said.

Onboarding & Accounts

3 requirements

Self-serve sign-up, verification, and tier selection.

Email + password sign-up with email verification
A prospective member can self-register and verify their email address.
A new member should be able to create an account with just an email and a password, verify the email, and pick a membership tier in under two minutes.
Membership-tier selection during onboarding
New members choose a tier as part of sign-up, no support call required.
A new member should be able to create an account with just an email and a password, verify the email, and pick a membership tier in under two minutes.
Welcome email on sign-up
A welcome email is sent when a member completes registration.
a welcome email when someone joins

Member Dashboard

4 requirements

The returning-member home with at-a-glance account status.

Dashboard shows tier, renewal date, and order history
Returning members see their key account facts at a glance.
They need to see their tier, their renewal date, and their order history at a glance.
Renewal date is prominently visible
The renewal date is obvious to cut "when do I renew?" support tickets.
"when does my membership renew?" — that should be obvious.
Self-service tier upgrade and downgrade
Members change their own membership tier from the dashboard.
members should be able to upgrade or downgrade their tier themselves
Member-controlled auto-renew toggle
Members can turn auto-renew on or off themselves.
Automatic renewal by default, but a member can turn off auto-renew from the dashboard.

Billing & Notifications

4 requirements

Annual billing, receipts, renewals, and reminders.

Self-service payment-method updates
Members update their payment method without calling support.
update their payment method without calling us
Emailed receipt after every charge
A clear receipt is emailed after each successful annual charge.
members want a clear receipt emailed after every charge
Automatic annual renewal
Memberships renew automatically by default each year.
Automatic renewal by default, but a member can turn off auto-renew from the dashboard.
7-day renewal reminder email
A reminder email is sent seven days before any charge.
please send a reminder email seven days before any charge

Step 3

The approved Scope of Work

Client-approved and locked — the same document your client signs via a no-login link.

Scope of Work

Northwind Outfitters — Member Portal

Version: v1
Date: May 12, 2026
Prepared by: The Plansmithy team
Approved: May 12, 2026

1. Overview

Northwind Outfitters is replacing its decade-old membership portal for roughly 40,000 outdoor-gear members. The rebuild turns a login-only site into a self-serve portal where members manage their own accounts, tiers, billing, and renewals.

This Scope of Work captures the deliverables agreed for the first release: frictionless onboarding, a member dashboard, self-service tier and payment changes, and an email-driven billing and renewal flow.

2. Objectives

New members self-serve sign-up, email verification, and tier selection in under two minutes
Returning members see tier, renewal date, and order history at a glance
Members upgrade, downgrade, and update payment methods without contacting support
Annual billing runs automatically with clear, emailed receipts
Renewal reminders go out seven days before any charge to eliminate surprise charges

3. Scope of Work

3.1 Onboarding & Accounts

The sign-up and account-management foundation, designed to replace support-driven onboarding with a two-minute self-serve flow.

#	Deliverable
1	Email + password sign-up with email verification
2	Membership-tier selection during onboarding
3	A welcome email on successful sign-up

3.2 Member Dashboard

The returning-member home: the answers that today generate the most support tickets, surfaced at a glance.

#	Deliverable
1	Dashboard showing current tier, renewal date, and order history
2	Self-service tier upgrade and downgrade
3	Auto-renew toggle controllable by the member

3.3 Billing & Notifications

Annual billing on the existing Stripe account, with the email flow that addresses the client’s number-one complaint — surprise charges.

#	Deliverable
1	Self-service payment-method updates
2	Emailed receipt after every successful charge
3	Automatic annual renewal with a 7-day reminder email before each charge

4. Out of Scope

Native mobile applications (responsive web only this release)
A loyalty or points-rewards system
Migrating off the existing Stripe payment processor
SMS notifications

5. Assumptions

Northwind’s existing Stripe account and membership-tier pricing are available at project start
The current member database can be migrated without changing tier definitions
Transactional email is sent through a provider Northwind already operates

6. Acceptance Process

The client reviews each milestone within a 5-business-day window; acceptance is by written sign-off. Scope changes are handled through a written change request that may affect timeline and cost.

Approved by Dana Whitfield, Northwind Outfitters via client review link on May 12, 2026.

Step 4

A resource-aware timeline

Scope becomes a plan — estimated, scheduled, and checked against who's actually available.

Window

May 19, 2026 → Sep 11, 2026

Estimated effort

760 hrs

Confidence

82%

Team

3 people

Task	Owner	Est.	Status
Design system & portal shell	Priya Raman	60h	done
Sign-up, verification & tier selection	Mara Lindqvist	120h	in progress
Member dashboard (tier, renewal, orders)	Mara Lindqvist	110h	in progress
Self-service tier change	Theo Adeyemi	90h	todo
Payment-method update (Stripe)	Theo Adeyemi	80h	todo
Annual billing + receipts	Theo Adeyemi	120h	todo
Renewal reminders & auto-renew	Theo Adeyemi	90h	blocked
Transactional email templates	Mara Lindqvist	50h	todo

Mara Lindqvist·Full-stack Developer · 40h/wkTheo Adeyemi·Backend Developer · 40h/wkPriya Raman·Product Designer · 24h/wk

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