How to brief a custom software project
Scroll DownA software brief turns an idea into a shared set of decisions. It should explain the problem and the expected behaviour clearly enough that scope, tradeoffs and delivery stages can be discussed.
Describe the problem with an example
Show a current task and explain what makes it difficult. Include the people involved, the information they need and the outcome they are responsible for. Concrete examples are more useful than a long list of feature names.
Define the users and their permissions
A customer, administrator and manager may need different views of the same record. Describe those roles and the actions available to each one, including approval and account recovery.
List external dependencies
Identify existing data, APIs, payments and systems the application will rely on. Record any access or documentation that still needs to be obtained so it can be treated as a dependency.
Write observable acceptance criteria
For each important journey, describe the input, action and expected result. Include incorrect inputs and interrupted tasks. This gives both sides a practical way to review delivery.
Agree on the first release and handover
Separate essential journeys from later improvements. Discuss ownership of source code, deployment, documentation and ongoing support before implementation starts.
Put the plan into practice
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