A Telegram bot specification should explain the task the system performs, who uses it and what counts as a successful outcome. A list of buttons is not enough: you need to describe transitions, data, integrations and behavior when errors occur.
Start with the process the business wants to automate. Then break it into scenarios you can verify. This makes it easier to agree on the development scope and accept the completed work.
Define the task and the boundaries of the first version
Describe the current process: where inquiries arrive, what an employee clarifies, where data are saved and what next step the customer receives.
Define the outcome of the first version, for example: “Collect a consultation inquiry, save it and pass it to the responsible manager.” Separately list functions outside the current scope: payment, appointment booking, a loyalty program or complex recommendations.
Assign a priority and dependency to each function. If online booking needs an up-to-date calendar, agree on access to it and the rules for changing slots before development begins.
If the interface has not been chosen yet, first consider when a bot, Mini App or website is suitable. Record the selected option and the transition points between interfaces in the specification.
Describe roles and permissions
It is usually worth distinguishing between:
- Customer: viewing information, submitting an inquiry and changing their own data within the permitted limits.
- Manager: receiving assigned inquiries, replying and updating working statuses.
- Administrator: managing access, reference data and settings.
For every action, define who can perform it and which records they can see. Clarify how access is granted and revoked, how responsibility is reassigned and what happens when an employee leaves.
A hidden button does not replace a permissions check. The system must reject an unauthorized action even if the user sends the command directly. Do not use a display name or knowledge of a command name as proof of a role.
Write scenarios from entry to outcome
A scenario brief can include:
- Name and purpose: the task the user performs.
- Entry point: a command, button or link from the website or an ad.
- Initial conditions: role, language, an existing inquiry or other data.
- Steps: what the bot displays, what the person selects and what is saved.
- Transitions: the next step, going back, editing and cancellation.
- Exceptions: invalid input, an unavailable service or a repeated action.
- Outcome: a system record, notification and the customer's next step.
- Verification criterion: how to confirm that the scenario was completed correctly.
Attach message text and button labels in the required languages. Describe what happens when someone enters free text, returns later or starts the bot again. Do not make users guess the only acceptable command.
Account for Telegram's capabilities
For a normal bot conversation, plan a user action that starts the interaction. A bot cannot initiate a conversation with an arbitrary person: the person must first message it or add it to a group. This limitation is described in Telegram's documentation.
If you need a phone number, do not expect to obtain it from a username. In the Bot API, a contact request button shares the number after the user presses it and is available in private chats. KeyboardButton documentation.
If the scenario runs in a group, check the necessary permissions and privacy mode separately: a bot's access to group messages is restricted by default. Telegram bot features.
Specify what happens when a user blocks the bot or a notification cannot be sent. Choose an alternative channel only when you have the data and a valid basis for that communication.
Define the data and how integrations work
For every field, specify its purpose, whether it is required, its format and storage location. An inquiry may need, for example, a selected service, task description, language, reply contact and inquiry identifier.
Collect information the process needs. Define staff access, retention periods and the deletion procedure. Agree on user notices and the necessary confirmations for the selected markets and scenarios.
For a CRM or calendar, define:
- which system is the source of the current status;
- which data are transferred and when;
- how records in different systems are linked;
- how errors, repeated events and delays are handled;
- who is notified of a problem and resolves it.
An inquiry saved in the bot and an inquiry created in the CRM can be different states. Confirmation text must reflect the actual stage. Pressing the submit button must not be presented as a confirmed appointment at a specific time.
A hypothetical inquiry scenario
A company accepts consultation requests. In the first version, the bot collects the inquiry and a manager discusses the date.
- The user starts the bot and selects a language.
- They select a service and enter a task description.
- They provide the designated contact details for a reply.
- They review the summary, edit the data or submit the inquiry.
- The system saves the inquiry with an identifier and passes it to the CRM.
- After record creation is confirmed, the bot reports that the inquiry has been passed on and the manager receives a notification.
If the CRM is unavailable, the inquiry remains saved and awaits transfer. The customer receives a message about the current state without a promise of a confirmed meeting time. The responsible employee is alerted to the failure.
Repeated button presses and repeated event delivery must not create duplicates of the same inquiry. Telegram events have an update identifier that helps recognize repeated processing; the developer must implement the specific protection for transfers to the CRM. Update documentation in the Bot API.
Separately define how someone creates a new request after the previous one is complete. Duplicate prevention must not block all future inquiries.
Make acceptance criteria verifiable
Replace “the bot works correctly” with a list of checks:
- Every agreed path runs from entry to outcome.
- Invalid input is explained, and data already entered are retained according to the scenario rules.
- Going back, cancellation and re-entry produce the expected result.
- Managers see only permitted records, and access revocation takes effect.
- A repeated event does not create a duplicate, while a new request is accepted.
- Integration errors are visible to the responsible person and handled according to the agreed procedure.
- Languages, notifications and text match the approved version.
- The agreed applications and devices that users will use have been checked.
Set measurable conditions for response time and expected load: concurrent users, action type, test timing and acceptable delay. Agree on values for the actual process, without arbitrary promises of identical speed at any load.
Record the handover and ongoing support arrangements
Specify who owns the bot, application hosting and the accounts used. Agree on the handover package: source code or access to the solution as provided by the contract, integration documentation, an administrator guide and the backup procedure.
Do not put the bot token in a publicly accessible specification. Telegram warns that anyone with the token can control the bot; share it only with people who need access, using an agreed secure method. Telegram's guidance.
Separate fixes for deviations from the specification, new functions and regular support. Define who monitors errors and integration updates after launch and how requirement changes are agreed.
To discuss Telegram bot and Mini App development, prepare the process description, roles, scenario briefs and sample data. The commercial proposal provides a basis for agreeing on the scope; clarify integration complexity and limitations for the specific systems involved.