Book a demo
|
Log in
Guru logo
Product
Pricing
Solutions
Resources
Enterprise
Product
tools emoji
Features
See how Guru captures, transforms, and delivers knowledge when you need it.
Employee Intranet
See how Guru captures, transforms, and delivers knowledge when you need it.
Shuffle icon emoji
Integrations
Guru works where you do - Slack, Chrome, Gmail and more.
Thinking face emoji
Why Guru?
With Guru's collaborative knowledge management solution, answers find you.
Google Chrome icon
Get the Chrome extension  >
Slack logo
Get the Slackbot  >
Microsoft Teams icon
Get the Microsoft Teams bot  >
Solutions
Plug emoji
Product enablement
The latest product information, delivered to reps in their workflow.
speech bubble emoji
Internal communications
Teams stay connected with anytime access to expert-verified information.
ship emoji
Employee onboarding
Automated onboarding to meaningfully integrate new teammates.
Laptop emoji
Remote work
A work-from-anywhere solution to help teams collaborate and connect.
Briefcase emoji
Company-wide
megaphone emoji
Marketing teams
Chart with upwards red line emoji
Sales teams
Telephone emoji
Support teams
Woman on computer emoji
Engineering teams
Face with hearts emoji
People Ops teams
Resources
Rocketship emoji
Free Templates
Boost your productivity and free up time with expert-designed templates.
Open book emoji
Glossary
Does KM make you say IDK? We explain all the industry terminology here.
Map emoji
Guides
Quizzes, toolkits, white papers, and more to help you do your best work.
Laptop emoji
Blog
The only place where you can literally read our minds.
Floppy disk emoji
Developers
Raised hand emoji
Help Center
Graduation cap emoji
Academy
Neighborhood emoji
Community
Sign up freeExplore product
Product
Features
Employee Intranet
What is Guru?
Integrations
Pricing
Solutions
Product enablement
Internal communications
Employee onboarding
Remote work
Company-wide
Support teams
Sales teams
Marketing teams
Engineering teams
People Ops teams
Resources
Free templates
Glossary
Guides
Blog
Developers
Help Center
Academy
Community
Customers
Enterprise
Log in
Sign up free
No credit card required  🚀
We use cookies to give you to give you the best experience possible on our website and to better understand how users interact with our content.
OkLearn more
We use cookies to give you the best experience possible on our website and to better understand how users interact with our content.
OkLearn more
Arrow icon
Back to template gallery
Guru logo
Guru logo

How to Write a Project Brief

Use this template to provide a project overview to key players.

Get the template
Get these templates
Explore templates
Communications
30-60-90 Day Plan Templates
Product Documentation Template
Best Practices to Reduce Meetings
Brand Guidelines - Press Kit
Branded Slides
Change Management Plan Templates
Chrome Extensions for Productivity (via Noom)
Company Objectives and Key Results (OKR) Template
Customer-facing Communications Template (Voice and Tone Guide)
Customer Support "Voice"
Customer Support Overview Template
Customer Win Story
Employee Handbook: How to Create or Update Yours in 2022
Enable G Suite Multifactor Authentication
Feature Release Template
Executive Summary Template
Press Release Templates from PR Pros
Glossary of Terms
Goals of Support Onboarding
Guide to Your First Weeks!
Guru 101 Template
Sales Script Documentation Template
How Our Team Uses Asana
How to Create a Unified Support Team
IT Request Submission Template
How to Use Slack
Communication Plan Templates
Case Study and Customer Quote Template
What is an SOP? The 2022 Guide to Writing One [Templates + Examples]
Project Plan Templates
IT Information Overview Template
Engineering Project Feedback Template
Internal Communications and Team Updates
Internal Content Style Guide
Meeting Minutes Templates and How-to
Mission and Vision Statement Examples and Templates
Daily Briefing Template
Process Documentation Template with How-to and Examples
Project Communication Plan Templates with Examples and How-To
Project Proposal Templates
Project Summary Template
Recommended Slack Channels Template
Remote Work Resources Template
Required Microsoft Teams Channels Template
Return to Office Milestones, Timelines, and Recommendations Templates
Return to Office Roadmap Template
Revenue Team Newsletter Template
Sales Enablement Charter Template
Sales Onboarding Template
Sales to Customer Success Information Flow Template
Slack Best Practices Template
Social Media Plan
Support Policies and Procedures Template
Productive Meeting Best Practices Template
Voice of the Customer: Strategy and Survey Templates
Customer Service
30-60-90 Day Plan Templates
Change Management Plan Templates
Company Objectives and Key Results (OKR) Template
Customer-facing Communications Template (Voice and Tone Guide)
Customer Experience Template Collection
Customer Support "Voice"
Customer Support Overview Template
Feature Documentation Template
Feature Release Template
Glossary of Terms
Guru 101 Template
How Our Team Uses Asana
How to Create a Unified Support Team
Meeting Minutes Templates and How-to
Process Documentation Template with How-to and Examples
Project Proposal Templates
Project Summary Template
Recommended Slack Channels Template
Return to Work and Remote Work Template Collection
Social Media Plan
Support Policies and Procedures Template
Voice of the Customer: Strategy and Survey Templates
Employee Onboarding
30-60-90 Day Plan Templates
Brand Guidelines - Press Kit
Change Management Plan Templates
Company Objectives and Key Results (OKR) Template
Competitor Battle Card
Customer-facing Communications Template (Voice and Tone Guide)
Customer Support Overview Template
Customer Win Story
Employee Handbook: How to Create or Update Yours in 2022
Enable G Suite Multifactor Authentication
Glossary of Terms
Goals of Support Onboarding
Guide to Your First Weeks!
Guru 101 Template
HR and People Ops Template Collection
Onboarding Checklist Template
Employee Turnover Rate Calculator and Template
How to Use Slack
Case Study and Customer Quote Template
What is an SOP? The 2022 Guide to Writing One [Templates + Examples]
Internal Content Style Guide
Meeting Minutes Templates and How-to
One-on-One Meeting Templates
Process Documentation Template with How-to and Examples
Required Microsoft Teams Channels Template
Sales Onboarding Template
HR and People Ops
Guru 101 Template
Employee Offboarding Templates
Marketing
30-60-90 Day Plan Templates
Proven Go-to-Market (GTM) Strategy Templates
Brand Colors
Brand Guidelines - Press Kit
Chrome Extensions for Productivity (via Noom)
Proven Cold Sales Email Templates
Company Objectives and Key Results (OKR) Template
Competitor Battle Card
Customer-facing Communications Template (Voice and Tone Guide)
Cross-Functional Team Guide
Customer Support "Voice"
Customer Win Story
Feature Release Template
Press Release Templates from PR Pros
Glossary of Terms
Guru 101 Template
Sales Script Documentation Template
How Our Team Uses Asana
How to Use Slack
Communication Plan Templates
Case Study and Customer Quote Template
Meeting Minutes Templates and How-to
Mission and Vision Statement Examples and Templates
Process Documentation Template with How-to and Examples
Project Proposal Templates
Project Summary Template
Revenue Team Newsletter Template
Sales Enablement Charter Template
Social Media Plan
Operations and IT
12+ Action Plan Templates
30-60-90 Day Plan Templates
9 Project Management Excel Templates
Best Practices to Reduce Meetings
Intranet Software Requirements Template
Change Management Plan Templates
Intranet CMS Requirements Template
Company Objectives and Key Results (OKR) Template
Competitor Battle Card
Employee Handbook: How to Create or Update Yours in 2022
Enable G Suite Multifactor Authentication
Glossary of Terms
Guide to Your First Weeks!
Guru 101 Template
HR and People Ops Template Collection
How Our Team Uses Asana
Onboarding Checklist Template
Employee Turnover Rate Calculator and Template
Root Cause Analysis Template
IT Request Submission Template
How to Use Slack
Communication Plan Templates
What is an SOP? The 2022 Guide to Writing One [Templates + Examples]
IT Information Overview Template
Engineering Project Feedback Template
Meeting Minutes Templates and How-to
Mission and Vision Statement Examples and Templates
Employee Offboarding Templates
One-on-One Meeting Templates
Process Documentation Template with How-to and Examples
Project Proposal Templates
Project Summary Template
Recommended Slack Channels Template
Remote Work Resources Template
Required Microsoft Teams Channels Template
Return to Office Milestones, Timelines, and Recommendations Templates
Return to Office Roadmap Template
Slack Best Practices Template
Product Management
30-60-90 Day Plan Templates
Proven Go-to-Market (GTM) Strategy Templates
Product Documentation Template
Virtual Product Brainstorm Template
Brand Colors
Branded Slides
Chrome Extensions for Productivity (via Noom)
Company Objectives and Key Results (OKR) Template
Competitor Battle Card
Cross-Functional Team Guide
Customer Support "Voice"
Customer Support Overview Template
Feature Documentation Template
Feature QA Process
Feature Release Template
Press Release Templates from PR Pros
Glossary of Terms
Goals of Support Onboarding
Guru 101 Template
Sales Script Documentation Template
How Our Team Uses Asana
Support Questions Response Template
IT Request Submission Template
Communication Plan Templates
What is an SOP? The 2022 Guide to Writing One [Templates + Examples]
IT Information Overview Template
Engineering Project Feedback Template
Integration Troubleshooting Template
Meeting Minutes Templates and How-to
Mission and Vision Statement Examples and Templates
New Feature Outreach Template
Daily Briefing Template
Process Documentation Template with How-to and Examples
Support Troubleshooting Template for Products and Features
Project Proposal Templates
Project Summary Template
Recommended Slack Channels Template
Return to Office Roadmap Template
Slack Best Practices Template
Voice of the Customer: Strategy and Survey Templates
Project Management
12+ Action Plan Templates
20+ Project Timeline Templates
30-60-90 Day Plan Templates
7 Essential Project Document Templates
9 Project Management Excel Templates
Product Documentation Template
Virtual Product Brainstorm Template
Best Practices to Reduce Meetings
Company Objectives and Key Results (OKR) Template
Competitor Battle Card
Daily Standup Meeting Templates
Executive Summary Template
Press Release Templates from PR Pros
Guru 101 Template
What is an SOP? The 2022 Guide to Writing One [Templates + Examples]
How to Write a Project Brief with Templates
Project Plan Templates
Engineering Project Feedback Template
Internal Communications and Team Updates
Daily Briefing Template
One-on-One Meeting Templates
Process Documentation Template with How-to and Examples
Project Communication Plan Templates with Examples and How-To
Project Proposal Templates
Project Status Report Template
Project Summary Template
Recommended Slack Channels Template
Sales
30-60-90 Day Plan Templates
Proven Go-to-Market (GTM) Strategy Templates
Chrome Extensions for Productivity (via Noom)
Proven Cold Sales Email Templates
Company Objectives and Key Results (OKR) Template
Competitor Battle Card
Customer Win Story
Feature Documentation Template
Executive Summary Template
Press Release Templates from PR Pros
Glossary of Terms
Guru 101 Template
Sales Script Documentation Template
How Our Team Uses Asana
Communication Plan Templates
Case Study and Customer Quote Template
Meeting Minutes Templates and How-to
Mission and Vision Statement Examples and Templates
Process Documentation Template with How-to and Examples
Project Proposal Templates
Project Summary Template
Revenue Team Newsletter Template
Sales Enablement Charter Template
Sales Onboarding Template
Team Meetings
12+ Action Plan Templates
30-60-90 Day Plan Templates
Virtual Product Brainstorm Template
Best Practices to Reduce Meetings
Change Management Plan Templates
Daily Standup Meeting Templates
Guru 101 Template
How Our Team Uses Asana
Employee Turnover Rate Calculator and Template
How to Use Slack
How to Write a Project Brief with Templates
Engineering Project Feedback Template
Internal Communications and Team Updates
Meeting Minutes Templates and How-to
Daily Briefing Template
One-on-One Meeting Templates
Process Documentation Template with How-to and Examples
Project Communication Plan Templates with Examples and How-To
Project Status Report Template
Project Summary Template
Recommended Slack Channels Template
Remote Work Resources Template
Slack Best Practices Template
Productive Meeting Best Practices Template
UX and Design
30-60-90 Day Plan Templates
Virtual Product Brainstorm Template
Brand Colors
Branded Slides
Cross-Functional Team Guide
Feature QA Process
Glossary of Terms
Guru 101 Template
Meeting Minutes Templates and How-to
Mission and Vision Statement Examples and Templates
Process Documentation Template with How-to and Examples
Project Proposal Templates
Project Summary Template

Your team's project brief is a single place to house all project information – everything from the summary to key metrics used to define project success.

How do you give your project stakeholders all the project-related information they need? Ad hoc messages on slack and emails probably aren’t going to cut it. No formal method of project communication creates gaps in your team’s knowledge that spell setbacks during the project. What you need is a single source of information that stakeholders can reference throughout the entire project and know the information they’re reading is reliable. 

Cue your team’s project brief. It’s a single place to house all project information – everything from the summary to key metrics used to define project success. As the name suggests, try to keep it short and sweet. It’s a concise way to capture and store information at the core of any project. Keep reading to learn how to incorporate a project brief into your next project and get the downloadable template below.

Feature Release Overview
Save time and get your creativity flowing by grading our done-for-you project brief template. To edit, get the template below.

What is a project brief?

A project brief is a quick overview of your project. It holds the contextual knowledge necessary for readers to understand the what, why, when, and how of the project. Stakeholders, goals, metrics, timelines, and anything else related to the project might be listed in the brief. Think of the brief as a succinct and digestible way to record core project information to easily distribute across your team. 

The brief is the starting point for your project. It gives stakeholders the basics and invites them to give suggestions or ask questions. A project brief can help pitch a project to company leadership as it displays the project’s end goal and how it connects with the organization’s overall objectives. Kick off your project with a brief and you’ll see:

  • An improvement in project communication
  • Streamlined project management
  • Open doors for stakeholder collaboration
  • Informed and supportive leadership

A brief is the core of a project. Once it’s created, project information can expand out based on detailed requirements for each part of the process. Link to other pieces of documentation, include videos or graphics, or anything else that will support your project’s success.

What is included in a project brief?

The bonus of a project brief is that it allows you to communicate any project-related information to stakeholders that you want. For example, maybe you want to reference a previous project through a link to a case study or close out with a list of external resources to support a stakeholder’s understanding of the project. You can do it all. The general rule of thumb is to keep it as skimmable as possible to avoid overwhelming your team with information before the project has even officially begun. 

Try keeping each section to a few concise sentences with links to related internal or external sources. Bulleted lists, graphics, and charts can help break up blocks of text for easier reading. Information you’ll commonly find in a project brief includes: 

  • Project summary
  • Project intent
  • OKRs and deliverables
  • Success indicators
  • Project timeline
  • Project stakeholders and teams
  • Project audience

While there is no prescribed way of formatting your project brief, you do want to make sure you provide stakeholders with necessary information. A project brief is the kick off of your project communication and management. Use it as a jumping off point and for reference through the entire project.

How to format a project brief

Format your project brief in a way that makes the most sense for your team. Starting from a template can make creating your brief a little easier. Here are a few ideas for what to include in your brief to help you get started. 

1. Project summary

First up: a project summary. Explain the project in a few key sentences that hit on the expectations and scope of the project. The information here should help answer the ‘why’ for the project. Is there any background information that could help contextualize the project for those just learning about it? What problem is the project hoping to address? Include any links or resources here that could be helpful. Use these answers to segue into the next section.

2. Define the project intent

Think of the project’s intent as its mission statement. What is the goal? What problems will it solve? What are the expectations of the project, both long and short term? Will future iterations of the project be needed for maintenance? The project intent is the end goal. Together the project summary and intent set the scene before your brief dives into more specific details. 

3. Outline OKRs and deliverables

During your initial project brainstorming, you most likely outlined key results and deliverables. You can get as detailed here as you feel is necessary. Use this section to begin breaking the project down into sections and the expected deliverables associated with each. You can connect project objectives and deliverables to showcase how each step of the process lends to achieving the overall project goal. Your OKRs (objectives and key results) set a framework for how success will be measured throughout the project.

4. Define how success will be measured

It’s important that you choose metrics that will best showcase your project’s success. Whether it’s boosted website traffic, number of new customers, or an increased click through rate, your metrics should be decided upon before the project begins so you can regularly check in throughout the project. Decide on your metrics during the brainstorming phase and list them out in your project brief. When stakeholders know how the project will be measured, they can better cater their work to accomplishing the project goals. 

5. Communicate the project timeline

One of the most important elements of your project is the timeline. After all, you can’t start a project within an indefinite timeline. The project timeline informs the length of each project phase and when deliverables are expected to be finished. When creating your project timeline, try working backwards from your final completion date. Have a list of all the deliverables, milestones, and estimated duration of tasks on hand for reference as you create the timeline. Consider giving yourself a little more time than you estimate you need for each phase. This way any potential setbacks won’t throw your entire project off-course. 

6. Include stakeholders and teams

When stakeholders know who to communicate with about each phase of the project, it streamlines productivity and removes constant shoulder tapping. Each project stakeholder is the expert in their area–make note of each of these people in the project brief. If everyone knows who to turn their questions to or who they will be collaborating with, everyone saves time. 

7. Define the audience

Every project has someone in mind they are trying to reach. Whether it’s a marketing campaign designed to raise brand awareness and attract potential new customers or product updates that will satisfy current customer requests, there is always someone on the other side of the project who will benefit from its outcome. Close out your project brief by defining this audience. Who is the project for? This will most likely closely align with the project’s intent.

What are the differences between a project brief, project summary, and executive summary?

Simply put, your project brief is the bird’s eye view of the project and all its moving parts. It’s an abbreviated version of everything a stakeholder might need to know about the project. A project brief isn’t the only source of information you might use in a project. After reading about what a project brief includes, you might be wondering about other pieces of project documentation and how they differ. Take a look at project summaries and executive summaries. 

Project summary

Instead of touching on each part of the project in a sweeping overview as a project brief does, a project summary focuses on a single aspect: the summary. It includes the project’s background, any problems it's addressing, why the project was created, and what it is expected to accomplish. A project summary might include several sentences about each phase of the project and how those phases are expected to impact the overall project goal. It’s an in-depth behind-the-scenes look at the why and what of the project. 

Executive summary

While similar in some respects, an executive summary differs from a project summary and project brief in how it relays project information. An executive summary is usually written by company leadership to hit on the key business points of a project. It defines how a project fits into the larger picture of company goals and objectives. The information recorded here is usually quick and to the point, making it an easy read for all stakeholders. Bullet points or short paragraphs are common. The executive summary also answers the ‘why’ question, but does so from leadership's perspective. 

Why is a project brief important in project management?

A project brief sets the tone for the project. How it communicates information and becomes a single reference point for that information supports overall project management. Stakeholders can spend less time digging through old emails, Slack messages, or asking subject matter experts to answer their questions. You’ll increase project transparency and remove any barriers due to lack of knowledge. 

A project brief means that everyone involved knows what is happening, when it is happening, and who is responsible for each phase. It acts as both a framework for the project and communication tool for essential project communication. It’s the background information that makes managing a project efficient and effective. 

Project brief example

In short, a project brief template can help you capture all your project information in one handy location. Create your own copy of the downloadable template below to start documenting your project needs and expectations.

How do you give your project stakeholders all the project-related information they need? Ad hoc messages on slack and emails probably aren’t going to cut it. No formal method of project communication creates gaps in your team’s knowledge that spell setbacks during the project. What you need is a single source of information that stakeholders can reference throughout the entire project and know the information they’re reading is reliable. 

Cue your team’s project brief. It’s a single place to house all project information – everything from the summary to key metrics used to define project success. As the name suggests, try to keep it short and sweet. It’s a concise way to capture and store information at the core of any project. Keep reading to learn how to incorporate a project brief into your next project and get the downloadable template below.

Feature Release Overview
Save time and get your creativity flowing by grading our done-for-you project brief template. To edit, get the template below.

What is a project brief?

A project brief is a quick overview of your project. It holds the contextual knowledge necessary for readers to understand the what, why, when, and how of the project. Stakeholders, goals, metrics, timelines, and anything else related to the project might be listed in the brief. Think of the brief as a succinct and digestible way to record core project information to easily distribute across your team. 

The brief is the starting point for your project. It gives stakeholders the basics and invites them to give suggestions or ask questions. A project brief can help pitch a project to company leadership as it displays the project’s end goal and how it connects with the organization’s overall objectives. Kick off your project with a brief and you’ll see:

  • An improvement in project communication
  • Streamlined project management
  • Open doors for stakeholder collaboration
  • Informed and supportive leadership

A brief is the core of a project. Once it’s created, project information can expand out based on detailed requirements for each part of the process. Link to other pieces of documentation, include videos or graphics, or anything else that will support your project’s success.

What is included in a project brief?

The bonus of a project brief is that it allows you to communicate any project-related information to stakeholders that you want. For example, maybe you want to reference a previous project through a link to a case study or close out with a list of external resources to support a stakeholder’s understanding of the project. You can do it all. The general rule of thumb is to keep it as skimmable as possible to avoid overwhelming your team with information before the project has even officially begun. 

Try keeping each section to a few concise sentences with links to related internal or external sources. Bulleted lists, graphics, and charts can help break up blocks of text for easier reading. Information you’ll commonly find in a project brief includes: 

  • Project summary
  • Project intent
  • OKRs and deliverables
  • Success indicators
  • Project timeline
  • Project stakeholders and teams
  • Project audience

While there is no prescribed way of formatting your project brief, you do want to make sure you provide stakeholders with necessary information. A project brief is the kick off of your project communication and management. Use it as a jumping off point and for reference through the entire project.

How to format a project brief

Format your project brief in a way that makes the most sense for your team. Starting from a template can make creating your brief a little easier. Here are a few ideas for what to include in your brief to help you get started. 

1. Project summary

First up: a project summary. Explain the project in a few key sentences that hit on the expectations and scope of the project. The information here should help answer the ‘why’ for the project. Is there any background information that could help contextualize the project for those just learning about it? What problem is the project hoping to address? Include any links or resources here that could be helpful. Use these answers to segue into the next section.

2. Define the project intent

Think of the project’s intent as its mission statement. What is the goal? What problems will it solve? What are the expectations of the project, both long and short term? Will future iterations of the project be needed for maintenance? The project intent is the end goal. Together the project summary and intent set the scene before your brief dives into more specific details. 

3. Outline OKRs and deliverables

During your initial project brainstorming, you most likely outlined key results and deliverables. You can get as detailed here as you feel is necessary. Use this section to begin breaking the project down into sections and the expected deliverables associated with each. You can connect project objectives and deliverables to showcase how each step of the process lends to achieving the overall project goal. Your OKRs (objectives and key results) set a framework for how success will be measured throughout the project.

4. Define how success will be measured

It’s important that you choose metrics that will best showcase your project’s success. Whether it’s boosted website traffic, number of new customers, or an increased click through rate, your metrics should be decided upon before the project begins so you can regularly check in throughout the project. Decide on your metrics during the brainstorming phase and list them out in your project brief. When stakeholders know how the project will be measured, they can better cater their work to accomplishing the project goals. 

5. Communicate the project timeline

One of the most important elements of your project is the timeline. After all, you can’t start a project within an indefinite timeline. The project timeline informs the length of each project phase and when deliverables are expected to be finished. When creating your project timeline, try working backwards from your final completion date. Have a list of all the deliverables, milestones, and estimated duration of tasks on hand for reference as you create the timeline. Consider giving yourself a little more time than you estimate you need for each phase. This way any potential setbacks won’t throw your entire project off-course. 

6. Include stakeholders and teams

When stakeholders know who to communicate with about each phase of the project, it streamlines productivity and removes constant shoulder tapping. Each project stakeholder is the expert in their area–make note of each of these people in the project brief. If everyone knows who to turn their questions to or who they will be collaborating with, everyone saves time. 

7. Define the audience

Every project has someone in mind they are trying to reach. Whether it’s a marketing campaign designed to raise brand awareness and attract potential new customers or product updates that will satisfy current customer requests, there is always someone on the other side of the project who will benefit from its outcome. Close out your project brief by defining this audience. Who is the project for? This will most likely closely align with the project’s intent.

What are the differences between a project brief, project summary, and executive summary?

Simply put, your project brief is the bird’s eye view of the project and all its moving parts. It’s an abbreviated version of everything a stakeholder might need to know about the project. A project brief isn’t the only source of information you might use in a project. After reading about what a project brief includes, you might be wondering about other pieces of project documentation and how they differ. Take a look at project summaries and executive summaries. 

Project summary

Instead of touching on each part of the project in a sweeping overview as a project brief does, a project summary focuses on a single aspect: the summary. It includes the project’s background, any problems it's addressing, why the project was created, and what it is expected to accomplish. A project summary might include several sentences about each phase of the project and how those phases are expected to impact the overall project goal. It’s an in-depth behind-the-scenes look at the why and what of the project. 

Executive summary

While similar in some respects, an executive summary differs from a project summary and project brief in how it relays project information. An executive summary is usually written by company leadership to hit on the key business points of a project. It defines how a project fits into the larger picture of company goals and objectives. The information recorded here is usually quick and to the point, making it an easy read for all stakeholders. Bullet points or short paragraphs are common. The executive summary also answers the ‘why’ question, but does so from leadership's perspective. 

Why is a project brief important in project management?

A project brief sets the tone for the project. How it communicates information and becomes a single reference point for that information supports overall project management. Stakeholders can spend less time digging through old emails, Slack messages, or asking subject matter experts to answer their questions. You’ll increase project transparency and remove any barriers due to lack of knowledge. 

A project brief means that everyone involved knows what is happening, when it is happening, and who is responsible for each phase. It acts as both a framework for the project and communication tool for essential project communication. It’s the background information that makes managing a project efficient and effective. 

Project brief example

In short, a project brief template can help you capture all your project information in one handy location. Create your own copy of the downloadable template below to start documenting your project needs and expectations.

How to Write a Project Brief with Templates
Guru logoGuru logo
How to Write a Project Brief with Templates
Crafted by 
  |  
at
Guru
Guru logo
How to Write a Project Brief with Templates
Crafted by Guru
Get the template
Get these templates
More Guru templates
Guru is the source of truth that skyrockets productivity and works well with all the tools you love. Explore our ready-to-use templates or check out the trending ones here.
InVision LogoGuru logo
Guru logo
Daily Standup Meeting Templates
Use these templates to streamline your team's daily, weekly, or regular standups to maximize productivity.
Crafted by
InVision
Guru
Guru logoGuru logo
Guru logo
Change Management Plan Templates
Use these proven, hand-picked templates to lead any change successfully.
Crafted by
Guru
Guru
Noom logoGuru logo
Guru logo
Internal Communications and Team Updates
Use this template to provide your team with a weekly digest of the information they need to know. Monthly and daily update Card templates included as well.
Crafted by
Noom
Guru
Product
FeaturesPricingIntegrationsWhy Guru?Knowledge management softwareEmployee IntranetInternal wiki
By Use Case
Product enablementEmployee onboardingInternal communicationsRemote work
By Team
Company-wideSupport teamsSales teamsMarketing teamsEngineering teamsPeople Ops teams
Company
About usCustomersCareersPress kitStay in the know
Support
Guru Help CenterStatusSecurity
Resources
BlogFree TemplatesGlossaryGuidesEventsDevelopersAcademyCommunityKnowledge Fest: Knowledge Mangement ConferenceGuru savings calculator
More
Partner with GuruSales enablement Switch to GuruKnowledge managementKnowledge driven cultureProduct TrainingSlack
Contact us
Get a demo
Talk to us
121 S Broad St, Floor 10, Philadelphia, PA
The Guru Blog
Where we drop our knowledge
Visit blog
Arrow icon
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
💌  Stay in the know with Guru email updates
Terms of serviceDev agreementPrivacyBeta agreement
©XXXX Guru Technologies, Inc
Close icon
Guru template gallery
Almost there...
Guru logo
I have a Guru account
Arrow
Not a Guru user?  Simply fill out this form.