Passwordless Authentication Platforms Business Requirements

A structured, ready-to-use requirements checklist for evaluating passwordless authentication platforms — functional authentication capabilities plus roughly 100 non-functional requirements covering performance, security, scalability, integration, and compliance. Delivered as a scored Excel evaluation matrix.

A generic list checks the "passwordless login" and "biometric support" boxes and calls it done — but not all passwordless is equal. Magic links and SMS one-time codes are passwordless and still fully phishable; only FIDO2/WebAuthn public-key credentials resist credential phishing, and a surface checklist won't force that distinction. It also won't ask about the account recovery flow for a lost device or passkey, which is where organizations quietly reintroduce the exact social-engineering risk they just removed — a weak help-desk reset process undoes the whole investment. And it won't distinguish synced passkeys, whose private key material is replicated through a cloud account, from hardware-bound authenticators, or ask whether legacy apps that still require a password behind the scenes get a real fix or just a vaulting bridge.

What's Included

• Functional Requirements covering enrollment, authenticator types, recovery flows, policy and risk controls, and admin management
• 100+ Non-Functional Requirements spanning performance, security, scalability, integration, and compliance
• Excel Evaluation Template with weighted vendor scoring

Common Uses

• As the requirements backbone for a passwordless or FIDO2 vendor RFP
• To separate genuinely phishing-resistant authentication from OTP-based approaches marketed as "passwordless"
• To align identity, security, and helpdesk teams on account recovery requirements before rollout, not after the first lost-device incident

Who It's For

IAM and security leaders, identity architects, and procurement teams evaluating passwordless or FIDO2-based authentication platforms.