Software brief template
A good brief describes the problem, not the solution. Answer each question in a few sentences and send the same brief to two or three companies.
Background
Who are you, what do you do, and how big is the team?
The problem
What is going wrong or taking too long? Say it in one sentence first, then add detail.
Who is affected
Which people deal with the problem (staff, customers, managers)? Roughly how many of each?
How it works today
Describe the current process, tools and spreadsheets as they really are, mess and all.
What good looks like
If this were solved, what would be different? Describe outcomes, not features.
Constraints
Any deadline, budget range, systems it must connect to, or compliance and data protection concerns?
Out of scope
What are you not asking for? This prevents scope creep before it starts.
What you do not know yet
List your honest questions. They show a developer where to dig.
Want to see how it works in practice?
Our guide to writing a software brief includes a short worked example. When your brief is ready, we would be glad to read it.