5 top tips for a design brief that works
Are you about to navigate an upcoming development, or redevelopment of a website or app?
We understand how daunting it can be trying to steer your company through something that involves a lot of investment, and we want to help you get a strong start to your project.
Why a strong brief matters
Think of your project brief as a roadmap. It provides clarity on your project's goals, required deliverables, and scope of work. This ensures your chosen agency can provide an accurate cost estimate based on your specific needs, budget, and timeline.
If you’ve had a poor experience in the past you may have found that a vague or incomplete project brief may have been a contributing factor. It leads to miscommunication, wasted time, and budgets spiralling out of control.
Writing a brief that works: how to get the most from your UX design agency
With that in mind, here are my 5 top tips for creating a digital design brief that sets the stage for a successful, collaborative partnership with your chosen UX/UI agency, and a digital product that meets everyone’s needs.
1. Get the right people talking
Make sure you clearly identify who at your company will be the agency's go-to person. Also, give a heads-up on who else might be involved internally and how they fit into the project. Bonus points for specifying your preferred way to communicate – email, weekly catch ups, carrier pigeon... whatever works best!
You should include:
☑️ Contact details of the project team
☑️ An overview of team’s areas of involvement, if appropriate
☑️ Details of preferred communication channels.
2. Explain the ‘why’ behind the project:
Help agencies understand the project's purpose and how it fits into your overall business goals. Don't just jump into the ‘what’ and ‘how’ without first answering why this project is happening in the first place. Try to keep it pretty comprehensive though - this way the agency can quickly grasp the core purpose.
You should include:
☑️ The background of your project in three sentences or less
☑️ What triggered the need for this project?
3. Decide what winning looks like
Paint a clear picture of what you're hoping to achieve. How will you know if the project is a success? Also, give the agency the lay of the land by sharing who your competitors are and what they're doing well (or not!).
You should include:
☑️ Details of your company’s goals
☑️ Success metrics that will be used
☑️ Information on your competitors. What’s great/not so great about what they’re doing?
4. Share relevant design information and resources
This area is particularly important as it will help agencies identify the amount of time needed to make your goals possible. It will also inform the level of research needed to understand your users or whether you are looking to bring a product up to a modern standard based on a pre-existing solution and research.
Provide details about available user research (including pain points) and examples of existing experiences that serve as inspiration or benchmarks. Now’s also the time to clarify the status of brand guidelines and assets, indicating whether they need to be sourced or created.
You should include:
☑️ Whether the UX agency will have access to customers and stakeholders for user research
☑️ Details of any pre-existing research
☑️ Experiences that already exist that you are looking to replicate/benchmark against
☑️ Status of brand guidelines or design assets.
5. Be transparent around budget and timelines
Knowing your budget allows agencies to propose solutions that are both effective and financially feasible. Without this information, they might overestimate or underestimate the scope, leading to mismatched expectations and potential budget overruns later on.
It's better to be upfront about your limitations from the start, so don't be shy about sharing your budget and deadline. This will help agencies tailor their approach to fit your constraints and manage your expectations.
You should include:
☑️ Details of your budget
☑️ The proposed deadline you’d like to work towards
☑️ Any key project milestones to be considered.
Final thoughts
From our perspective, a well-written brief is one of the most important factors in determining the success of a UX/UI project. It allows us to hit the ground running and deliver exceptional value to our clients.
More than that, though, investing in a comprehensive brief upfront can save you time and money in the long run by preventing costly mistakes and scope creep.
Remember, the initial brief is just the starting point. Be prepared to iterate on it based on feedback from potential agencies. This collaborative process will ensure that everyone is on the same page and that the project is set up for success.
For more insights see the following blog entries:
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