Brief
A brief is a structured document that summarizes a project’s goals, requirements, target audience, timeline, and budget. It is the foundation of a successful collaboration between client and agency, defining what should be created, why, and under what conditions. A good brief minimizes misunderstandings and makes sure both sides share the same vision of the outcome.
Paradoxically, the brief is one of the most valuable and at the same time most overlooked tools in project management. Large-scale studies show its impact on project success:
- Poor briefs cost a third of the budget: global research by the BetterBriefs Project (1,700+ respondents from 70+ countries, 2021) showed that 33% of marketing budgets is wasted on poor briefs and misdirected work. While 80% of marketers believe they write good briefs, only 10% of agencies agree (BetterBriefs Project / IPA, 2021)
- Poor requirements kill projects: in a survey of 2,000+ project managers, PMI found that 47% of failed projects fail because of inaccurate requirements. Organizations with low requirements management maturity lose 11 cents of every dollar invested (PMI – Requirements Management, 2014)
- Clear requirements are among the top 3 success factors: the Standish Group’s long-term analysis (CHAOS Report, thousands of IT projects since 1994) repeatedly confirms that clear requirements, user involvement, and executive support are the three most important project success factors (Standish Group – CHAOS Report)
- Scope creep makes projects tens of percent more expensive: according to McKinsey, large projects run an average of 80% over budget, and in 68% of cases the main cause is uncontrolled scope expansion, the result of a missing or vague brief (McKinsey – Project Cost Overrun Research)
FAQ
What should a good brief for a website project include?
A good brief covers seven key areas: company background and the reason for the project, goals and measurable success metrics, the target audience (personas), project scope (number of pages, features), existing branding and visual direction, budget, and timeline. PMI points out that organizations with mature requirements management processes achieve significantly better results (PMI – Requirements Management, 2014).
How is a brief different from a project scope?
A brief is the input document from the client: it describes what they want to achieve and why. The project scope is a detailed specification the agency prepares based on the brief, defining specific deliverables, functionality, and project boundaries. The brief is the starting point the scope builds on.
Who should write the brief: the client or the agency?
Ideally, both sides work on it together. BetterBriefs Project research revealed a major gap: 78% of marketers believe their briefs provide clear strategic direction, but only 5% of agencies agree. That’s why it works best when the client prepares the inputs and the agency helps refine the brief into something the team can work from efficiently (BetterBriefs Project / IPA, 2021).
Sources:
- BetterBriefs Project / IPA (2021) – global research with 1,700+ respondents from 70+ countries on brief quality
- PMI – Requirements Management: A Core Competency (2014) – survey of 2,000+ project managers on requirements management
- Standish Group – CHAOS Report – long-term analysis of thousands of IT projects since 1994, success and failure factors
- McKinsey – Project Cost Overrun Research – analysis of budget overruns and the impact of scope creep on large projects
%201.webp)