DevForgeAI Documentation

Help & Documentation

Everything you need to go from a one-page brief to a full project document suite — generated, downloaded, and ready to present.

Getting Started

DevForgeAI turns a one-page project brief into a complete set of up to 25 professional project management documents — in minutes. You describe your project once, and DevForgeAI generates up to 25 professionally formatted documents — charter, RACI matrix, risk register, financial model, kickoff deck, and more — cross-referenced and consistent. More preparation, less grind.

How it works

Fill in the Project Intake Form
Download the template, complete it with your project details — name, goals, budget, timeline, stakeholders — and save it.
Upload your brief
Open the app, upload your completed intake form, and select which documents you need.
Generate
Click Generate Documents. The app processes your brief in parallel waves — typically 3–8 minutes for a full 25-document suite.
Download your ZIP
When generation completes, download your ZIP package. Extract it, open your documents in Microsoft Word. Your documents are ready — complete, formatted, and consistent.

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Extract before opening. Always right-click the ZIP and choose Extract All before opening any document. Word opens files read-only if accessed directly from inside a ZIP archive.

What you need

A completed Project Intake Form (download the template)
For Free Trial, Free Preview, and Starter Pack: nothing — no account, no API key needed
For Lifetime License: an API key from your chosen AI provider (Anthropic, OpenAI, Google Gemini, Mistral, or Groq)
Microsoft Word to open and edit your documents (Google Docs also works)

Supported project types

DevForgeAI works for any type of project. The AI adapts its language, risks, stakeholder roles, and technical detail to match your industry and context. Common use cases include:

Cloud migration and infrastructure projects
Software development and digital transformation
ERP / CRM rollouts
Data platform and analytics programmes
Cybersecurity and compliance initiatives
Any project where you need professional documentation fast

Free Trial & Free Preview

DevForgeAI offers two ways to try the product completely free — no account, no credit card, no API key required.

What the free trial includes

One full 16-document run — the same output as a paid plan
Six sample project scenarios — choose one to use as your brief
Full ZIP download — all documents in editable .docx format

Trial limitations

Sample briefs only — you cannot upload your own project brief on the free trial. That requires a paid plan or BYOK licence.
One run per visitor — the trial is intended for evaluation, not ongoing use.
No account required — trial sessions are anonymous and not saved.

ℹ️

Want to use your own project brief? Upload your own brief on Free Preview (5 docs free), Starter Pack ($10 / 3 credits), or Lifetime License ($97 unlimited).

Available trial scenarios

Cloud Migration
Legacy System Modernisation
ERP / CRM Rollout
Data Platform Build
Digital Transformation
Cybersecurity Programme

Each scenario uses a realistic, fully-populated project brief so you can see what DevForgeAI produces with real data.

Pricing & Plans

DevForgeAI offers four access tiers. Choose based on how often you run projects and whether you want to supply your own AI API key.

Plan overview

Feature	Starter Pack$10 one-time	Lifetime License$97 one-time	Team / PMO$79 / month — Coming Soon
Document runs	3 creditsnever expire	Unlimited	200 / monthshared pool
Users	1	1	Up to 5
API key required	✗managed key included	✓BYO — ~$0.50–$2.00/run	✗managed key included
Upload own project brief	✓	✓	✓
All 25 PM documents	✓	✓	✓
Custom document selection	✓	✓	✓
Editable .docx / .xlsx / .pptx output	✓	✓	✓
Save & Resume (.devforgeai)	✗	✓	✓
Team intake form library	✗	✗	✓
Admin usage dashboard	✗	✗	✓
Email support	✗	✓	✓Priority
Subscription required	✗	✗	✓

Which plan is right for me?

Starter Pack — $10 (3 credits)

Starter Pack ($10): Best if you want to try DevForgeAI with your own project brief without setting up an API key. 3 full project runs using DevForgeAI's managed key. No API key needed. Credits never expire.

Lifetime License ($97): Best if you run projects regularly and want unlimited access forever. You supply your own API key from any of the five supported providers and pay your provider directly for each run (~$0.50–$2.00). No subscription, no expiry. Includes Save & Resume with .devforgeai project files.

Lifetime License — $97 one-time

Team — $79/month

Best for PMO teams or consulting firms where multiple people need access. Up to 5 users share a pool of 200 runs per month, with a shared intake form library and admin visibility into usage.

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Not sure? Start with the Free Preview — upload your own brief, pick any 5 documents, and generate free. No card needed. Or run the Full Trial with a canned scenario to see all 25 documents at once.

API Key Setup (Lifetime License)

The Lifetime License requires your own API key from one of five supported providers: Anthropic, OpenAI, Google Gemini, Mistral, or Groq. This section explains how to get one and enter it in the app.

Free Trial, Free Preview, and Starter Pack users do not need an API key — skip this section.

ℹ️

Starter Pack users do not need an API key. DevForgeAI's managed key is included — skip this section.

Getting an API key

The steps below show Anthropic as an example. The process is similar for OpenAI (platform.openai.com), Google Gemini (aistudio.google.com), Mistral (console.mistral.ai), and Groq (console.groq.com).

Create an Anthropic account
Go to console.anthropic.com and sign up for a free account.
Add a payment method
Navigate to Billing and add a credit card. You'll pay approximately $0.50–$2.00 per full run, billed directly by your provider.
Create an API key
Go to API Keys in the Anthropic Console and click Create Key. Give it a name like devforgeai. Copy the key — it starts with sk-ant-.
Enter your key in DevForgeAI
Open the DevForgeAI app, expand the LLM Provider Settings panel in the sidebar, and paste your key into the API key field. Click Save Key.

How your key is stored

Your API key is stored locally on your machine — encrypted and bound to your username and hostname. It is never transmitted to DevForgeAI's servers. The key lives at:

C:\Users\[YourName]\.aiforge\config.json

This means your key is safe to use and will not be exposed if you share your project files.

⚠️

Keep your API key private. Do not share it, commit it to version control, or paste it anywhere other than the DevForgeAI settings panel. If you believe your key has been compromised, revoke it immediately in the Anthropic Console and create a new one.

Approximate API costs

Full 16-document suite: ~$0.50–$2.00 per run
Single document (e.g. Business Requirements only): ~$0.04–$0.08
Custom selection (5–8 documents): ~$0.20–$0.35

Costs are approximate and depend on project complexity and brief length. Anthropic bills in arrears — you can monitor your usage in the Anthropic Console.

Using the App

A complete walkthrough of the DevForgeAI application from intake form to downloaded ZIP.

Step 1 — Prepare your Project Intake Form

The intake form is a one-page Word document that captures the key facts about your project. Download the template from the app or from devforgeai.com/intake-form.

Fill in all required fields:

Project Name — the official name of your project
Industry — your organisation's sector
Project Objective — a clear statement of what the project will deliver
Timeline — your target duration (e.g. "12 months")
Budget — total approved or estimated budget
Go-live Target Date — your target completion date

The more detail you provide, the more accurate and specific your documents will be. Vague briefs produce generic documents.

Step 2 — Select your documents

In the Document Selection panel, choose one of three options:

Full Document Suite — all 25 documents in one run
Core Package — a subset of the most commonly needed documents
Custom Selection — pick exactly which documents you want

If you only need one or two documents, use Custom Selection — it's faster and, for Lifetime License holders, uses less API credit. For Starter Pack users, it still uses one credit regardless of document count.

Step 3 — Upload your brief and generate

Upload your completed intake form using the file uploader. Check that your project metadata is correct in the form fields, then click Generate Documents.

The progress tracker will show you which stage the pipeline is on. A full 25-document suite typically takes 3–8 minutes. You can optionally check Browser alert when done to receive a notification when generation completes — useful if you want to switch to another tab while you wait.

Step 4 — Download and open your documents

When generation completes, click Download Completed ZIP Package.

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Extract the ZIP before opening any documents. Right-click the ZIP file and select Extract All. If you open a .docx directly from inside the ZIP, Word will open it in read-only mode and you will not be able to save your changes.

Once extracted, open your documents in Microsoft Word. All documents are fully editable — update names, dates, tables, and content as needed for your organisation.

Regenerating a single document

If you want to regenerate just one document (for example, after updating your brief), use Custom Selection, tick only that document, and run again. Your previous ZIP will not be overwritten — each run creates a new timestamped ZIP file.

Starting over

Click Start Over — Generate Another Package at the bottom of the results section to clear the current run and begin a new one.

The Document Suite

DevForgeAI generates up to 25 professional project management documents from a single brief — cross-referenced and internally consistent, the way a full PM team would produce them. Every document is fully populated: no placeholder text, no empty tables, no TBDs.

ℹ️

All documents are generated in .docx format, compatible with Microsoft Word and Google Docs. Formatting follows professional PM document standards with consistent headers, tables, and section structure.

All 25 documents

Persona Suites — PdM & BA
Select a Product Manager or Business Analyst persona before generating to unlock 8 additional role-specific documents on top of the core PM suite. PdM adds: PRD, Product Roadmap (MoSCoW), OKRs (Excel), Feature Specifications, Release Plan, Experiment Backlog (Excel), Product KPI Dashboard Spec, and Product Stakeholder Update. BA adds: BRD, Use Cases, RTM, Data Model, Business Rules Catalog, Process Maps (As-Is/To-Be), Interface Requirements, and Data Dictionary. Persona documents are included with all paid tiers.

01

Project Charter

Executive summary, objectives, scope, stakeholders, budget, timeline, and formal sponsor sign-off block.

02

Business Requirements

SMART business objectives, functional and non-functional requirements with acceptance criteria, scope in/out, assumptions, constraints, and optional traceability matrix.

03

Financial Model

Full budget breakdown, cost-benefit analysis, ROI, NPV and payback period, monthly cash flow projection, and financial risk assessment.

04

Budget Tracker

Live budget tracking spreadsheet (.xlsx) with actuals, forecast, and variance by category — ready to update as the project progresses.

05

Project Backlog

Epics and user stories with story points, MoSCoW priorities, and acceptance criteria. Also exports as pre-formatted CSV files for direct import into Jira, Azure DevOps, and Asana.

06

Project Backlog (Excel)

The same backlog data as a styled Excel workbook (.xlsx) — epic-grouped, colour-coded priorities, freeze panes. Great for sprint planning in spreadsheet tools.

07

Project Plan

Delivery approach, governance structure, team roles, change management approach, and success metrics aligned to your chosen methodology.

08

Project Schedule

Phase-by-phase timeline with milestones, durations, dependencies, and a visual Gantt-style summary. Includes key dates table and go-live dependencies.

09

WBS

Full Work Breakdown Structure with WBS codes, work packages, level hierarchy, owner assignments, and a WBS dictionary with acceptance criteria per work package.

10

WBS (Excel)

The same WBS data as a styled Excel workbook (.xlsx) — hierarchy indented by level, colour-coded by depth, includes WBS Dictionary sheet. Useful for schedulers and planners.

11

Sprint Plan

Sprint-by-sprint delivery plan with goals, story assignments, story points, team capacity, and sprint retrospective prompts.

12

RACI Matrix

25

RACI Matrix (Excel)

Same RACI data as a styled Excel workbook — colour-coded R/A/C/I cells, Dashboard sheet with assignment counts by role, and Role Directory. Ideal for teams who work in spreadsheets.

Every workstream and decision mapped to Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed across all stakeholder roles.

13

Risk Register

Identified risks with probability, impact, risk score, mitigation strategies, contingency plans, and risk owners. Includes a risk heat map summary.

14

Communications Plan

Stakeholder communication matrix covering audience, message, frequency, channel, and owner. Includes meeting cadence and escalation communications.

15

Quality Management Plan

Quality objectives, standards, assurance activities, control checkpoints, and quality metrics with pass/fail thresholds.

16

Change Request Log

Formal change control register tracking all requested changes, impact assessments, approval decisions, and implementation status.

17

Key Decisions Log

Structured log of all project decisions, who made them, rationale, date, and any dependencies or constraints that resulted.

18

UAT Test Cases

User acceptance test scripts mapped to business requirements, with entry/exit criteria, defect severity matrix, and sign-off template.

19

Deployment Plan

Go-live runbook, pre/post deployment checklists, rollback plan, hypercare schedule, and cutover communication steps.

20

Architectural Specifications

High-level system architecture, component inventory, technology stack decisions, integration points, and non-functional requirements mapping.

21

Executive Status Report

RAG dashboard, budget snapshot, milestone status, and top risks as a Word document. Also auto-generates a ready-to-present PowerPoint deck.

22

Kickoff Deck

Ready-to-present PowerPoint for the project kickoff meeting — agenda, scope, objectives, timeline, team, and next steps.

23

Steering Committee Review

10-slide PowerPoint for Steering Committee meetings — actions from last meeting, RAG status, budget vs actuals, risks, and decisions required.

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Backlog CSV Exports — Import Directly to Your Agile Tool

When you generate a Project Backlog, DevForgeAI automatically produces four pre-formatted CSV files alongside the Word document — one for each tool: Jira, Azure DevOps, Asana, and a Generic CSV for any other tool. Epics, user stories, story points, priorities, and acceptance criteria are all included. No reformatting needed — download and import straight in.

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Free Templates — Available on the Home Page

DevForgeAI provides three free downloadable templates to help you get started: a Project Brief Template (.docx) to structure your project input, a Lessons Learned Register, and a Project Closure Checklist. Find them in the Free Resources section at devforgeai.net.

Wave generation order

Documents are generated in parallel waves. Understanding this helps you know which documents finish first:

Wave 1 — Foundational: Project Charter, Financial Model, Budget Tracker
Wave 2 — Planning: Business Requirements, Project Backlog, Project Backlog (Excel), Project Plan, Project Schedule, WBS, WBS (Excel), Sprint Plan
Wave 3 — Governance: RACI Matrix, Risk Register, Communications Plan, Quality Management Plan, Change Request Log, Key Decisions Log
Wave 4 — Delivery: UAT Test Cases, Deployment Plan, Architectural Specifications, Executive Status Report, Kickoff Deck, Steering Committee Review

Later waves are enriched by the outputs of earlier waves — Risk Register entries reference Charter scope, UAT Test Cases are mapped to Business Requirements, and the Financial Model draws from budget and timeline data established in Wave 1. This is what makes the output coherent and presentation-ready from the first download.

FAQ

Are the documents really fully populated — no placeholder text?

Yes. Every table cell, every section, every stakeholder row is populated using the details from your project brief. You will not see "TBD", "[Insert here]", or lorem ipsum. If your brief is detailed, the documents are detailed. If your brief is sparse, the AI will make reasonable inferences — which you should review and adjust. The goal is a professional starting draft, not a finished product — but it's closer to finished than anything a team produces on day one.

Can I edit the documents after downloading?

Yes. All documents are standard .docx files. Open them in Microsoft Word or Google Docs and edit freely — formatting, content, tables, everything. They are not locked or protected.

What happens if generation fails partway through?

If a document fails to generate, the pipeline logs the error and continues to the remaining documents. Your ZIP will still be created with the documents that succeeded. Check the error message in the app for details on which document failed and why.

Can I generate just one or two documents?

Yes. Use Custom Selection in the Document Selection panel and tick only the documents you need. For Lifetime License holders, this uses less API credit. For Starter Pack users, note that one credit is consumed per run regardless of document count.

Do my documents or project data get stored anywhere?

No project data is stored on DevForgeAI servers. Your brief is processed in-session and the output is returned directly to you. On the BYOK plan, your brief is sent to Anthropic's API as part of the generation request — subject to Anthropic's data handling policies.

How accurate are the financial figures and dates?

All figures, dates, and names are drawn directly from your Project Intake Form. The AI does not invent numbers — it uses exactly what you provided. Always review the Financial Model for accuracy before sharing externally.

Can I use DevForgeAI for client projects?

Yes. There are no restrictions on using generated documents for client work. The documents belong to you. Many users run DevForgeAI as their first move on every new client engagement — arriving at kickoff with a complete, professional document suite already in hand.

What is the BYOK plan and do I need a technical background to use it?

BYOK stands for Bring Your Own Key. It means you supply an API key from one of the five supported providers (Anthropic, OpenAI, Google Gemini, Mistral, Groq) and pay that provider directly for each run (~$0.50–$2.00 for a full suite). This is required for the Lifetime License. Getting a key takes about 5 minutes — see the API Key Setup section. No technical background is required.

Can I upgrade from BYOK to Pro later?

Yes. Contact support@devforgeai.net to upgrade from Starter Pack to Lifetime License. Your Starter Pack purchase is non-refundable if credits have been used, but the remaining credit value will be noted for support purposes.

How is the Traceability Matrix in the Business Requirements document generated?

The Traceability Matrix is included automatically when your project generates six or more functional requirements. It links each requirement to a business objective and a UAT test case reference. For smaller projects with fewer requirements, it is omitted to keep the document clean.

Troubleshooting

My document opened as read-only in Word

This happens when you open a .docx file directly from inside the ZIP archive without extracting it first. Windows and macOS both open files inside ZIPs in a protected view.

Fix: Right-click the ZIP file → Extract All → navigate to the extracted folder → open the document from there. You can then edit and save normally.

Generation failed with an API error

This usually means one of the following:

Invalid API key — double-check your key in the LLM Provider Settings panel. Anthropic keys start with sk-ant-, OpenAI with sk-, Groq with gsk_.
Insufficient API credits — check your balance in your provider's console and top up if needed.
Rate limit hit — if you ran several generations in quick succession, wait a minute and try again.

The progress bar stopped updating

The app is still running — the progress bar updates on each pipeline step, but the AI generation within each wave can take 60–90 seconds with no visible progress. Do not close or refresh the browser tab. If it has been more than 10 minutes with no update, refresh the page and try again.

Some documents are missing from my ZIP

If a document fails to generate, the pipeline skips it and continues. Check the error output in the app for the specific document that failed. Common causes:

A required field in your brief was left blank
A transient API timeout — regenerating just that document via Custom Selection usually resolves it

The Project Charter preview didn't appear

The Charter preview appears in the results section after generation completes. If it is not showing, the Charter may have failed to generate — check the error log in the app.

My ZIP file won't download

Check your browser's download settings — some browsers block automatic downloads from web apps. Allow downloads from app.devforgeai.com in your browser settings and try again.

I need further help

If you're on the Pro or Team plan, email support@devforgeai.net. Include the error message from the app and a description of the issue. BYOK users can reach out via the same address — response times may be longer.

💡

Most issues are solved by re-running. AI generation is probabilistic — a failed run is rarely a permanent error. If something goes wrong, try again with the same brief before investigating further.