How to Prepare a Project Brief Before Hiring a Software Company
A well-prepared project brief saves time, reduces cost, and helps you get accurate proposals from software companies. Here is exactly what to include.
What Is a Project Brief and Why Does It Matter?
A project brief is a document that describes what you want to build, who it is for, and why it needs to be built. It is the foundation of every productive conversation with a software development company — and the single most effective way to get accurate, comparable proposals.
Companies that receive a clear brief can allocate the right technical resources to evaluate your project, provide realistic timelines, and price it accurately. Vague briefs produce vague proposals, and vague proposals lead to scope disputes and cost overruns.
What to Include in Your Project Brief
1. Business Context
Describe your company, your industry, and what prompted this project. What is the problem you are trying to solve? What is the cost of not solving it?
2. Project Objectives
What will success look like six months after launch? Be specific: "reduce manual data entry by 80%," "enable online ordering for our wholesale customers," "launch a mobile app with 1,000 users in the first three months."
3. Target Users
Who will use this system? Internal staff, customers, suppliers, or all three? Describe their technical comfort level and any accessibility requirements.
4. Core Features and Functionality
List the features the system must have to be considered successful (must-haves) and features that would be valuable but are not blocking (nice-to-haves). Be honest about the difference.
5. System Integrations
What existing systems need to connect to this project? Payment gateways, accounting software, CRM, government portals, third-party APIs. List them all, including the integration method if known.
6. Technical Constraints
Do you have technology preferences? Existing infrastructure that must be preserved? Security or compliance requirements? Hosting preferences?
7. Timeline and Budget
Provide a realistic launch target and a budget range. Companies cannot scope a project properly without understanding both. If you are uncomfortable sharing a budget, at minimum indicate whether you are looking for a 2,000 JOD project or a 20,000 JOD project — they are entirely different scopes.
8. Content and Data
Do you have existing data to migrate? Who is responsible for providing content (text, images, product data)? In what format?
What You Will Get in Return
A well-prepared brief typically results in proposals that are more accurate, more comparable, and more aligned with what you actually need. It also signals to development companies that you are a prepared, professional client — which attracts better responses.
Alien Code offers a free brief review session — send us your draft and we will give you feedback before you approach other companies. Get in touch.
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