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project brief

Also called: one-page brief

A one-page description of a project that the sponsor and the team agree on: the goal, success criteria, what is in and out of scope, limits, assumptions and one named owner.

A project brief is one page that the sponsor, the budget owner and the key expert sign and read the same way. Its job is agreement, not documentation: once it is signed, the team stops re-arguing what the project is for and what it includes.

A useful brief answers, in this order: the goal and why now (the change the project exists for, not the things it builds); the success criteria in two parts, delivery and result; the scope, both what is in and what is out; the constraints the project cannot change by itself (a date, a budget ceiling); the assumptions the plan relies on; the main risks in a line; one named owner and the sponsor who signs; and a rule for how changes to date, budget or scope are decided.

Two parts carry most of the value. The out list names the tempting extensions that are not in this project, so each later request becomes a decision with a visible cost instead of an argument. Testable assumptions have a number, a way to check and a date, so a false one turns up early, when it is still just a plan change.

Keep it to one page. A brief that grows to ten pages has turned into the plan, which comes later; and a brief copied from the last project with the name swapped usually lists outputs, a team instead of an owner and "budget: to be agreed".

Example

The brief for Klasna's physics launch, signed in October 2026 (lines shortened):

  • Goal: learners preparing for the physics exam study with Klasna this spring; last spring families asked for physics and were turned away.
  • Success, delivery: classes open on 1 February 2027 with at least 8 tutors who passed a demo lesson, within 600,000 UAH.
  • Success, result: 120 physics packages bought by 28 February 2027, checked on 1 March.
  • In: curriculum, practice sets, tutor recruiting and demo lessons, diagnostic test, landing page, booking by subject.
  • Out: group classes, a mobile app, olympiad preparation, chemistry, an in-app experiment simulator.
  • Constraints: the date; the 600,000 UAH ceiling for everything before opening (tutor payouts of 430 UAH per delivered lesson come from the operating budget).
  • Assumptions: at least 8 qualified tutors accept 430 UAH per delivered lesson (Roman asks the first 15 candidates by 6 November); a physics package sells through the current booking flow (test purchase by 16 October); 120 learners ÷ 8 tutors = 15 learners per tutor fit their free slots.
  • Owner: the project lead. Sponsor: Leo, the CEO. Changes to date, budget or scope go to Leo in writing; he answers within two working days.

The booking assumption failed its October test purchase. Because it was written with a check and a date, the fix (a contractor building a physics checkout) entered the plan in October instead of surfacing in January.

Common mistakes

  • Outputs as the goal. "Curriculum, test and landing page by 1 February" can all be true with zero learners; name the change instead.
  • No out list. Without it every new request can claim a place in the project.
  • "Budget: to be agreed". The budget owner cannot sign a page without a ceiling.
  • A team as the owner. "The physics team" means nobody in particular; name one person and the sponsor.
  • Untestable assumptions. "Tutors will be motivated" can't fail a check; write a number, a check and a date.

Learn it in the course

  • The one-page brief · Goal, success, scope in and out, limits, testable assumptions, names and a change rule: one page a sponsor can sign.
  • Goal or outputs: what success means · Why finished outputs aren't success, and how to write two-part success criteria: delivery and result.
  • Case: the brief for the physics launch · Turn Leo's list of outputs into the one-page brief he will sign: a goal that names the change, two-part success criteria, an out list and assumptions you can test.
  • Break the work down from deliverables · Deliverables first, tasks second: a tree that covers all the work of the physics launch and nothing twice, flattened into a list with owners and effort ranges.
  • Case: the first month against the success criteria · Physics opened on time, but bookings are half the target: separate delivery from result, find where the funnel leaked and write the closing report with three actions.