How to brief a software project

A good brief saves weeks. It doesn’t need to be formal — it needs to be concrete.

By Will Fortes · Fortes Tech

The minimum that helps

  1. Problem in one sentence + a real example from last week.
  2. Who feels the pain (role).
  3. What you’ve already tried.
  4. Desired timeline and why.
  5. Budget range (even approximate).
  6. Links: current site, screenshots, access if any.

What you don’t need on day one

  • A full wireframe.
  • Preferred stack (unless legacy constrains it).
  • Company history since 1998.

Quick answers

What if I don’t know what I need?

Describe the pain and impact. Discovery turns that into scope.

Want to apply this to your business?

About 30 minutes to align the problem and next step — no commitment.