How to Brief a Software Agency: A Practical Checklist
A weak brief means fantasy estimates, scope creep, and a product nobody needs. Use this checklist so agencies can price and schedule against reality.
Ali Mortazavi
Founder, Paradise Code
Write the business goal before the features
“We want a modern website” is not a brief. Write: within 90 days of launch we need X qualified leads/month, or checkout completion from A to B. A numeric goal clarifies feature priority and blocks wish lists.
If you have multiple goals, rank them. A good agency architects for goal #1 and parks goal #3 in phase 2. Without ranking, everything becomes “must ship” and the budget breaks.
Users, roles, and high-frequency jobs
Define at least three personas with one primary job each: the end customer checking price, the operator approving orders, the manager needing a morning report. For each role, name the most frequent weekly task.
Screenshots of the current process—even if it’s Excel and WhatsApp—beat ten pages of prose. The agency must see what is being replaced, not only what UI to invent.
In/out of scope and forbidden assumptions
State explicitly what is in the MVP and what is not. Example: “online payment yes; native mobile app no; bilingual FA/EN only; accounting sync phase 2.” Ambiguity here is the most expensive part of the contract.
Write your assumptions too: “we assume gateway X has a stable API” or “we deliver product content by date Y.” Late content is your schedule risk, not engineering delay.
Integrations, data, and ownership
List current systems: CRM, accounting, SMS, warehouse, payments. For each: API available? sample docs? rate limits? Without this, integration estimates are guesses.
Clarify ownership of domain, hosting, source, and access from the proposal stage. A professional brief asks where code lives and who holds the keys—not discovers it after launch.
Acceptance criteria and the definition of done
For each key capability write an acceptance test: “user can checkout with a coupon and status appears in admin within 60 seconds.” Vague criteria like “UI should be nice” are undeliverable.
Name staging, sample data, and your UAT owner. Projects without a UAT owner linger for months in “almost done.”
Budget, timing, and decision rights
Share a budget range—even approximate. Honest agencies align scope to budget; hiding budget only produces mismatched proposals. State business deadlines with reasons.
Specify who answers UI/scope decisions within 48 hours. Slow client decisions often cost more than slow coding.
A one-pack you can send any agency
One 8–12 section doc: numeric goal, personas, MVP in/out, integrations, brand/legal constraints, acceptance criteria, budget/timeline, access, decision contact. That’s enough for a serious proposal.
If you lack time to write, run a 90-minute discovery workshop—but approve the written output. Paradise Code typically turns discovery into a prioritized backlog so everyone shares one source of truth.
Frequently asked questions
What if we’re not sure what we want yet?
Write the goal and the pain; leave UI solutions open. A good agency helps in discovery, but can’t commit without a numeric goal.
Are wireframes required?
Not mandatory. Flows and priorities are enough; wireframes help but don’t replace the business brief.
How many agencies should get the same brief?
2–4 proposals on one brief are comparable. Different briefs per vendor make price comparison meaningless.
NDA before the brief?
For competitive details, yes. For a high-level problem statement, often unnecessary—but you’re entitled to ask.
Insights
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