Successful projects start with a project brief. This becomes a living document of your project. We will discuss the elements of a brief, how the document evolves, and how to measure success from it.
What is a project brief?
A project brief often called a design or creative brief is a document that describes the scope of work for a designer or team. This document becomes the backbone of the project keeping everyone involved accountable.
Elements of a project brief
- Title of project
- Contact information for stakeholders
- Overview
- Description of the project
- Timeline & Milestones
- Constraints
- Scope of work
- Budget
- Project Details
- Purpose
- Goals
- Roles & Responsibilities
- Demographics
- Measures for Success
- Risks vs Benefits
- Planning
- Outline of Project
- Sketches or Examples
- Evolution
- Conclusion
Evoloution of a project brief
The first five elements should be completed before a project kick-off meeting. The person requesting the project should send the completed brief to the meeting members before setting a time to discuss the document. This gives the meeting members time to prepare for the meeting.
At a kick-off meeting, the key stakeholders will review the elements of the project brief. This is the time to agree upon the timeline, milestones, roles, responsibilities, budget, and scope of work.
As follow up to the kick-off meeting, you should have regularly scheduled stand up meetings throughout your project’s timeline. These meetings will be documented in the “Evolution” element of your project brief. Detailing the evolution of your project will help you discover possible roadblocks, trends, and changes.
The last element of the project brief is often forgotten about, yet I would argue is the most important step for your next project. In the conclusion element of the document, you will review the evolution of the project with the team and reflect on the goals that were made. By understanding your roadblocks, process, and success metrics your next project will be more organized.
Stay tuned for blog entries about “How to run a successful kick-off meeting,” “Setting achievable but challenging goals,” and “The importance of debriefing a project.”