- A project plan is arguably
the most important document you'll create on your project
and any good project plan starts with a project brief.
Sometimes call it a project charter.
A project brief should communicate your project approach
and the process your team will use to manage the project
according to scope,
It should also act as a sort of agreement
on project objectives, scope,
major deliverables, milestones, timing, activities, process
and even resources needed to deliver your product.
Now, you could easily slap together a document
that shows dates and deliverables,
but it's important to take the time
to get this document just right
with an appropriate amount of background information.
I'll break down the process into four steps.
First, understand the project brief purpose.
If you've ever planned a road trip,
you know you can't map out your journey
until you determine your destination.
A project is no different.
You can't hit the ground running
or even establish a plan for execution
until you know what the project is and what's involved.
That's where a project brief comes in.
While our project plan outlines how a project will get done,
a project brief defines the who, what, where, when and why,
which will set clear expectations
for stakeholders on the front end.
Think of it as the true north
that keeps your project on track.
Once work begins,
you can use the project brief to help prevent scope creep
and guide decisions all the way to completion.
Next, gather the contents for a project brief.
Quite often and you'll receive a ton of project details,
pages and pages of requirements,
team biographies, invoicing instructions,
contractual clauses and the like.
It's critical to read through all of that documentation
because it's what you need to know
to make sure the project succeeds.
No matter what type of project you're managing,
be sure to recap the following items in your project brief,
project goals, the client
or a team's intended process or methodology,
the team and their expertise,
expectations on deliverables,
including iteration and collaboration
when creating and revising them,
who your client's stakeholders and specifically
main decision makers are,
the amount of time the client will need
to review work and provide feedback,
dependencies and deadlines.
Creating the project brief at the start
enables you to get all the project stakeholders
on the same page.
For instance, if you haven't fully explored
the decision-making process,
there's a great chance you'll encounter
the good old swoop and poop.
That's when a stakeholder you weren't aware of,
swoops into the project at the 11th hour
and poops on the work, putting you back to square one.
Just remember, you can get as much information as possible,
but details can change,
do your best to document the information you have
so you can account for it your plan.
Then, draft your project brief.
Now that you, I understand a project brief's purpose,
and have gathered all the appropriate information
for a successful brief,
it's time to make your draft.
Just remember, project briefs
are used across a variety of industries.
The information you include on your brief
will depend on the type of project you're working on.
Just be sure to define your project as clearly as possible
so everyone knows what is and what isn't in scope.
And finally, build a solid project plan.
Now that you know how to draft a good project brief
it's time to use it to create a solid project plan.
With the right amount of background information
on your project's scope and requirements,
and with a good level of input and collaboration
from your team and your clients,
you can make a solid workable plan
that will guide everyone through your project.
I hope that helps you understand
what a project brief or charter is
and gives you a jumpstart on creating one
for your next project.
I'd love to hear from you in the comments.
Do you create a project brief for all your projects
or do you just wing it and start with your project plan?
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