Four Components of A Well-Written Digital Project Brief.

While you are thinking of launching a new digital product, it is imperative to also learn how to write a digital project brief the right way. Knowing your project requirement is the first step, finding the most appropriate digital agency to bring your idea and requirement to actualisation is the next. Then reaching out to them with your brief follows almost immediately. From experience, prospects are in the habit of requesting how much their project will cost during the first call they have with a brand. This doesn’t work so well because the agency doesn’t know the entire scope of your project, the full requirements and how long it could take to deliver it. Rather than ask for pricing, you could start out by sending them your digital project brief.

The Four Golden Components 

Some clients with big and well-thought-out plans are clouded with some form of insecurity when telling an agency about all their plans just in case an agreement is not arrived at or they don’t eventually work together. Asking for an officially signed Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) is one way to navigate these waters. Now let’s help you put together a properly written digital project brief using 5 non-negotiable components.

Talk About Your Company

The project manager or whoever you spoke with initially has interacted with so many other prospects like you. For this reason, always start writing your digital project brief by introducing yourself even if you’ve done so over the phone. Well, not just introducing yourself, but giving an overview of your company. This should essentially contain who you are, what you do (your products/services), and why you do what you do. You might want to keep this simple and short, but ensure it contains all information that can help one immediately understand what your brand is about.

Introduce The Project Concept and Scope

In this section, you want to be more expressive. Start by introducing the exact project you have in mind – be it a software, marketing campaign, digital tool, e.t.c. Explain explicitly what project you intend to launch, why you want it done, who you are doing it for (audience), and how you’ll need it done (method of execution). The method of execution should clearly state what tech stack they must use, specific marketing platforms/channels and other essential information. If you clearly state the objectives of your project and who your target audience is, things get smoother than you can imagine. 

Before an agency gives you a budget they can work with, they’ll always want to be sure of what they are getting themselves into. In fewer words, their intent is to reduce or totally prevent scope creep as well as to be able to measure every single activity requested and delivered.

Project Timeline

Here you should address how soon you need the project worked on and launched. With this information, the digital agency can ascertain if they would have the time and human resources to work on your project. Most agencies have the capability of implementing multiple projects simultaneously. However, they also don’t want to get overwhelmed with numerous projects which they’ll struggle to deliver. Help them out by stating for how long and when you need the project concluded or launched. We bet you don’t need anyone disappointing you altogether.

Budget

Stating your budget isn’t a bad idea. With a clear cut budget, the agency gets to know what you are willing to spend on your project. Some people are of the mindset that stating out your budget reduces the quality of work you will get from them especially if you put out a low budget. Agencies are able to help you customise your needs to accommodate your budget. So being transparent does you more good than you can imagine. While at this, ask them questions about after-service or maintenance as well as what payment plans are available in case you wish to pay in instalment.

The most common thing that happens after you send your digital project brief is for the agency to reach out to you to schedule a meeting. This meeting could be physical or virtual, it all depends on what you both agree on. At this meeting, there will be a lot of clarifications as they’ll want an in-depth understanding of your requirements. During this meeting, you can easily make up your mind on whether you’ll be taking up this project with the agency or you’ll keep searching for another.