Project Brief Word Template
Project Brief
A Project Brief is an important document created at the start of a project and provides a clearly defined synopsis of a client’s requirements. This project brief template summarizes the project objective and goals and clarifies the project budget and timelines.
It also highlights any assumptions/constraints and risks/issues that may be foreseen at the project's start. A project brief, in some cases, can be very concise, documented within 1-2 pages, or maybe a detailed document spanning across a few pages in case of other major projects.
This document is shared with all people/stakeholders involved in the project to give a clear understanding of the project's outcome.
Project Brief Template
Project Brief Template with an Example
The brief essentially contains the following details:
Title: Project name
Date: Date when the Project Brief is drafted
Client/Organization details: Provides the client organization details
Introduction/Overview: The project description provides a background to all stakeholders on what the project is about and why it is being undertaken, making it easier to approve/proceed with the project.
Project Objective: Project objectives mention the Key Performance Indicators (KPI) against which the project success is measured. It is essential to have clearly defined objectives for every project.
A project is intended to achieve certain results or produce a certain outcome. Project objectives need to be clearly defined to help understand the deliverable the project intends to achieve.
Project Scope: All activities in this project's scope need to be specified in this field. Items that are outside the scope should be mentioned in this field to set clear expectations.
Target Audience: All the affected parties and stakeholders are specified in this field
Success Factors: Defines the activities to be completed to achieve the defined project goals
Budget details: Every project has a cost associated with it, and the sponsor allocates and approves the project budget. At the start of the project, it is essential to estimate the most realistic cost to carry out the project.
Project Timelines: Specifies the deadline to complete the project. This requires that the start and end dates are clearly mentioned in the document. It is necessary to be realistic when estimating the timelines for the project completion.
Project Brief Template Word
In some major and complex projects, it may be difficult to estimate the exact date of completion. It may be useful to mention the approximate month of completion in such cases than the exact date.
Assumptions and Constraints: It is quite essential to identify assumptions and constraints in a project. Assumptions are made when certain events are expected to occur during the project, which may delay the project timelines.
Risks and Issues: Any risks that may arise at the beginning of the project need to be indicated in this field.
Team details: Required resources for this project are listed down in this field
Approval: This document needs to be approved by the Sponsor or the Project Board
To summarize, a project brief is a document used as an agreement between all stakeholders on the project objectives, scope, milestones, timelines, and the project resources required to complete the project.
