Guide for Stakeholders
As a stakeholder (Client), Vanillaround is where you read what the delivery team plans to build and formally confirm whether it matches your expectations. You don’t need to write specs or manage projects — your key action is approving or rejecting requirement cards.
What you’ll see when you open a project
Section titled “What you’ll see when you open a project”When you log in and open a project, you’ll see the Specs section: a tree of pages on the left, and the content of the selected page on the right.
Each page is a written description of a feature or area of the product. Read these like documents — they describe what the team plans to build, in language that should be understandable without technical knowledge.
Within those pages, you’ll see requirement cards — structured blocks with a title, description, and metadata. These are the items you’ll be asked to approve.
Approving a requirement card
Section titled “Approving a requirement card”You’ll receive a notification (email and in-app) when a card has been submitted for your approval. Click the notification to go directly to the card.
On the card, you’ll see:
- The requirement title and description
- The surrounding spec content (for context)
- An Approve and Reject button
If the requirement is correct: click Approve. This formally confirms that you agree with what’s been described and that the delivery team may proceed.
If the requirement needs changes: click Reject and enter a reason. Be as specific as possible. The delivery team will revise the requirement and resubmit for your review.
What approval means
Section titled “What approval means”Approving a card is a formal commitment — it signals that development on this requirement can begin. If something turns out to be wrong after approval, it can still be corrected, but it may have cost the team time and effort.
Take a moment to actually read the requirement before approving. If anything is unclear, reject it with a question rather than approving something you’re not sure about.
Using @mentions
Section titled “Using @mentions”You can @mention someone in a spec page to ask a question or flag something specific. Type @ and their name in the page editor (read mode doesn’t allow edits, but you can comment via mention in areas where the editor is active).
More commonly, the delivery team will @mention you to draw your attention to a specific section: “Hey @you, we need your input on this section before we can finalise the requirement.”
Tracking the overall project
Section titled “Tracking the overall project”If you want an overview of where the project stands:
- Boards — see all cards and their status at a glance (Awaiting Approval, Approved, In Development, Done)
- Progress → Changes — see the recent history of the project
You don’t need to actively monitor these unless you want to. Notifications will bring the relevant actions to you.
Things you cannot do
Section titled “Things you cannot do”As a Client, you cannot:
- Edit spec page content
- Create or configure requirement cards
- Submit cards to yourself for approval
- Connect integrations or manage project settings
These restrictions keep the delivery team responsible for what goes into the spec, while you retain full control over what gets approved.