A good briefing is the beginning of a good job and a good relationship with the client.

In practice it is difficult to approach the client with many questions, especially when the client doesn’t really know why he needs our work.

We should also not forget that certain questions in the briefing can be answered by means of observation and research – because they are more important questions for us than for the client.

Since our role is to solve a problem, the briefing is the beginning of our solution – clarify, explain, make the work more concrete, or we risk later debating the result by the traditional “I like it or I don’t like it”.

By gathering as much information as possible with objective criteria, we will more easily explain to the client why we think we have found the right solution.

WHO

(Who is your client?)

– Are you a company, association, or individual?

– Are you a small, medium, or large company?

– What line of business are you in?

– To what degree do you understand the company’s mission?

WHEN

(When will the work be done?)

– When does the client expect to have the work done?

– When is it possible to have the work ready?

– Are there any important events imposing the date?

– Can the delivery of the work be phased?

HOW TO

(How much will the work cost?)

– Is a prior investment necessary to do the work?

– Does the client have a budget for the work they want done?

– Do you need to hire help?

– Do you have a way to move around to respond to work probblems?

WHY

(Why is the client hiring you?)

– Why are you being contacted?

– What is the problem you are being hired to solve?

– What is the expected result? (e.g. more sales, more followers, more positive perception)

– Does this result depend on you?

HOW

(How will the work be managed?)

– Who makes the decisions on the customer’s side?

– Do you contact that person directly?

– Do you have enough knowledge to do this job well?

– What are the elements of the work?

– What elements of the work do you think really meet the client’s needs?

Silvia Cerqueira, Designer and Web developer